If You Plan On Voting In Texas, You May Need To Check Your Status Before You Step Into The Booth.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced this week that the state had removed more than 1.1 million people taken from voter rolls since 2021, which Abbott said is part of efforts to clean up election data and ensure legal registration.

This news has sent Texas voters scrambling to find out if they are still registered to vote in the upcoming election. More than 2.2 million Texans voter registration status is currently listed as “suspense” or on the "suspense list" which we'll get into later.

How To Check Your Texas Voting Status?

You can start by entering your information into The Texas Secretary Of State's "My Voter" portal to check their voter registration status or by contacting your county’s voter registrar.

But if you find yourself on the "suspense list" there no need to panic. There's a few steps you can take to change it but you'll have to move fast.

What Is The "Suspense List" Anyway?

According to the Travis County Tax Office, it will send two letters through the U.S. Postal Service when it attempts to reach voters at risk of removal from the voter roll. Voters who fail to respond go to a “suspense” file.

Voting will move them back to the active voters list. However, state law requires the county to remove the names of those either not voting or who fail to contact the county after four years in that suspense status.

So How Can I Get Off This List?

Voters can update their address online by Oct. 7 at Texas.gov, which is the deadline to register to vote in time for the November general election. To use that online service, you will need to share your current driver’s license or ID card, Social Security number or voter registration card’s voter unique identifier (VUID) number.

If you are still on the suspense list, you can STILL VOTE but you will have to complete a Statement of Residence form either when you vote by mail or at your polling location prior to voting.