The backlog left tens of thousands of applications in limbo when county officials said it was forced to pause processing.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — Back in September, it was made known that Bexar County election officials were scrambling to process roughly tens of thousands of voter registration applications. At fault, according to the county: a state computer system that wasn’t yet fully operational.
The backlog left tens of thousands of applications in limbo since July, when county officials said it was forced to pause processing as Bexar County’s longtime voter registration vendor abruptly shut down and a pivotal Nov. 4 election loomed.
At the time, Alicia Pierce, assistant secretary of state for communications, acknowledged the challenges affecting voters statewide.
“This is an unprecedented situation. This vendor abruptly shut off their services, disrupting the voter registration functions of 23 Texas counties,” Pierce told KENS 5 in September. “Of those, 14 have requested to join the TEAM system, and we are working as diligently as possible to onboard those counties ahead of the November election. At the same time, we are trying to support our 230 counties who are in the process of migrating to the Team 2.0 system.”
After weeks of daily data sharing and coordination with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, Bexar County officially transitioned to the TEAM system in hopes of clearing out the backlog in time for the November election.
Since the new system went live, Bexar County hired 82 additional full-time, part-time and temporary workers with a goal of processing 5,000 voter registration applications a day before early voting kicks off Oct. 20.
The county announced Wednesday that their reinforced sprint through the pending registrations reached the finish line. The elections department managed to process between 72,000 applications between Oct. 1 and Oct. 13, 65,000 of which were received through the Texas Department of Public Safety. Another 7,000 were received through the mail.
On Oct. 8, county officials indicated that the backlog was quickly shrinking thanks to their “controlled chaos” efforts and quick adjustment to the state’s new, now-operating software.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the Commissioners Court, Texas Secretary of State and my entire team, including temporary staff,” Bexar County Elections Administrator Michele Carew said in a press release. “Their efforts made this possible.”
Bexar County voters will decide in November on 17 state constitutional amendments, a proposed new Spurs arena, and upgrades to the Freeman Coliseum and Frost Bank Center. To check your voter registration status, visit VoteTexas.gov or call the Bexar County Elections Office at 210-335-8683.