TACEO Applauds Texas SOS Financial Assistance to Counties, Addresses Calls for State Vendor Accountability
AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Association of County Election Officials (TACEO), which represents election officials across Texas’ 254 counties, issued the following statement after Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden offered financial assistance to Texas county election offices that have been left to process a major backlog of voter registrations submitted through the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) online portal over the last 11 months, which were released to Texas county voter registrars last week:
"We are deeply grateful to Secretary Howden and the SOS Elections Division for stepping up with financial assistance for counties that are now processing thousands of backlogged voter registration files, shouldering an additional burden through no fault of their own. While counties typically see an uptick in voter registration submissions before the deadline, the additional volume from this backlog has created substantial new demands on our staff beyond what many counties have allocated in their budgets, and we appreciate that county election offices will have an opportunity to be reimbursed for these additional costs.
"To minimize duplicate registration applications, Texas voters with concerns should first check to verify their voter registration status online at VoteTexas.gov or contact their county voter registrar before submitting a new voter registration application.
"County election officials take voter list maintenance seriously, because an accurate and updated voter roll is the very foundation of election integrity. Our mission to ensure Texas voters can trust our election system does not end when challenges arise – it endures because of the hard work we undertake to overcome those challenges and keep elections transparent and secure. County voter registrars worked through the weekend and are continuing to work diligently to ensure all valid voter registrations submitted before the deadline are processed successfully.
"This unexpected backlog comes at a time when county election officials continue to experience wide-ranging functionality problems with the Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM) system, which only adds further strain to this process. Based on the direct experiences of county election officials across the state, it has become evident that these problems are the result of fundamental system architecture failures by the state's voter registration database vendor, Civix.
"County election officials have raised these issues repeatedly over the last year, testified to the ongoing problems extensively in Texas Senate and House interim hearings throughout the summer, and submitted written testimony to the Texas House Elections Committee on August 3.
"We've heard bipartisan calls for hearings and greater accountability, and county election officials certainly agree with the need to address core problems impacting our ability to use the TEAM system. But with Early Voting just weeks away, it is important for the state to exercise the tools it has now to hold its vendors accountable, including Civix.
"Specifically, the state must enforce the terms of its current vendor contracts and ensure the delivery and maintenance of reliable voter registration database software before any further payments are made.
"Local election officials, poll workers, candidates, campaigns, volunteers, and voters all need and deserve clarity on how any technological updates are going to impact election administration as we approach the voter registration deadline on October 5 and the start of Early Voting on October 19.
"County election officials will keep working around the clock to deliver a secure and accurate election, despite these challenges, because Texas voters and taxpayers deserve no less. We will never fail Texas voters, even if the technology fails us."
About TACEO
TACEO is a nonpartisan association representing county election officials across Texas’ 254 counties, working to promote integrity, transparency and public trust in Texas elections. Through collaborative education, innovative resources, and unwavering support for all county election officials, TACEO works to build a community marked by integrity, excellence, and public trust in our electoral system. Learn more at https://www.txaceo.org/
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