AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers on Monday questioned state election officials about voter-roll maintenance, election software and the review of potential noncitizens on the voter rolls as the state prepares for the November midterm elections.
The House Elections Committee focused on the rollout of the Texas Election Administration Management system, or TEAM, the state’s voter registration and election management platform, and its use across counties ahead of the election.
The voter registration deadline for the November election is Oct. 5.
Officials from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office told lawmakers that TEAM has supported seven elections despite ongoing improvements to its reporting and data alignment.
Lawmakers also questioned officials about the state’s use of the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database to identify potential noncitizens registered to vote.
State officials said they compared more than 18 million voter records against the federal database and identified about 2,700 records that required additional review.
Officials emphasized that the records represent potential matches and do not automatically mean that a voter is ineligible or will be removed from the voter rolls.
Under the process outlined to lawmakers, county election officials review the records and notify voters when questions about eligibility arise. A registration can be canceled if a voter does not respond to the notice, officials said.
“The law says that in these circumstances, if a county wants to notify a voter that they may have a problem with their eligibility for registration, you send a notice to that voter,” Christina Adkins, director of elections at the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, told the committee.
“If they do not respond to that notice, then it could result in their registration being canceled,” she said.
State law allows voters whose registrations were canceled in error to have them immediately reinstated.
Some lawmakers questioned whether the federal database could incorrectly flag eligible voters. State officials said they are working with the Texas Department of Public Safety and county election offices to resolve discrepancies before the election.
The Secretary of State’s Office also plans additional improvements to the TEAM system this summer, including upgrades to reporting, data synchronization and election management tools.
Officials said the changes are intended to improve the system before election activity increases in the fall.
