SAN ANTONIO — More than 153,000 registered voters in Bexar County remain on Texas’ “suspense” list because election officials have questions about their current addresses ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.
The Bexar County Elections Office reported 153,537 suspense voters as of Thursday. The figure represents nearly 12% of the county’s roughly 1.3 million registered voters.
State officials reported up to 1.2 million suspense voters across Texas ahead of the Oct. 5 voter registration deadline.
A voter enters suspense status when election officials receive returned election-related mail or other information indicating that the voter may no longer live at the registered address.
“Some voters may be like, ‘Hey, I’ve lived here 50 years, why do I have to confirm my address?’ Well, this is why,” Bexar County Elections Administrator Michele Carew said.
Returned ballots, voter registration cards and other official election mail can trigger the designation. A voter can also enter suspense status after an undeliverable jury summons or other information indicates that the registered address may no longer be current.
Election officials then send a Notice of Address Confirmation asking the voter to verify the address. Voters can return the form with their complete, current address to have their registration removed from the suspense list.
Voters who remain in suspense status can still vote. However, they must complete a Statement of Residence at the polls during early voting or on Election Day.
Voters who have moved to another Texas county face additional restrictions. They may cast a limited ballot during early voting at the main polling location, allowing them to vote only in races that overlap their former and current addresses.
Texas Assistant Secretary of State for Communications Alicia Pierce urged voters to verify their registration information before the Oct. 5 deadline.
Voters can check and update their registration through the Texas Secretary of State’s online voter registration portal.
A voter remains registered unless officials identify a move or another issue affecting the registration. However, officials will cancel a registration if the voter remains on the suspense list for two federal election cycles, or four years, without resolving the issue.
Early voting for the Nov. 3 election runs Oct. 19-30.
