The Polk County Clerk’s Office received approximately 1,600 records to process as a result of a technological error at the state level that caused this major backlog, County Clerk Schelana Hock, who also serves as the county’s voter registrar, said.
Tens of thousands of voter registration applications, some dating back at least a year, were caught in a backlog and are yet to be processed due to an error by the Texas Department of Public Safety, it was learned Sept. 23.
Some voter registration applications and updates submitted through DPS’s online driver’s license portal were never sent to county voter registrars, the state told county election officials.
“Over the past 24 hours, Texas county voter registrars across the state have received a flood of new voter registrations and updates to voter registration records submitted through the Texas Department of Public Safety. Some of these submissions date as far back as October 2025, but were not sent to Texas county voter registrars until today,” Hock said Sept. 24.
“Polk County voters should be confident that county election officials are working diligently to ensure valid voter registrations submitted in a timely manner before the deadline will be processed appropriately, despite the challenges and additional time that this backlog has created,” Hock said.
“We encourage Polk County voters to verify their registration status by visiting www.votetexas.gov or by contacting our office at 936-327-6805 to verify that their current voter registration information is updated and on file ahead of the Oct. 5 deadline,” Hock said.
