Over a million names have been purged from Texas’s voter registration rolls since the last presidential election, as announced by the state on Monday. Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) stated that this massive removal is part of a broader initiative to “protect the right to vote and to combat illegal voting.”
“These actions have led to the elimination of over one million ineligible individuals from our voter rolls in the past three years, including noncitizens, deceased individuals, and those who have relocated to other states,” Abbott explained. “Illegal voting in Texas will not be tolerated. We will continue to vigorously defend Texans’ sacred right to vote while ensuring our elections are protected from any unlawful activities.”
Over one million names removed from Texas voter rolls in a broad effort to combat illegal voting
According to data from the governor’s office, roughly half of the removed voters were either deceased, had requested removal, or had moved out of state. Nearly 7,000 were noncitizens who had registered illegally, and around 6,000 were convicted felons who are ineligible to vote.
Additionally, about 463,000 individuals were placed on Texas’s “suspense list,” which is where counties place voters who fail to respond to required certification forms.
This voter roll cleanup is part of a comprehensive set of voting restrictions implemented by the Texas Legislature following the 2020 presidential election. At the time, Abbott declared that the law would make it “easier to vote and harder to cheat” in Texas.
Critics argue that these measures disproportionately impact voters of color and those with disabilities. Among the nearly 6,500 noncitizens removed from the voter rolls, about 1,930 have a voter history, according to the governor’s office. These cases will be forwarded to the Attorney General’s office for potential felony charges.
Texas, along with several other predominantly Republican-controlled states, enacted a series of new voting restrictions following President Biden’s victory over former President Trump in the 2020 election, which saw record-breaking turnout and an increase in mail-in and early voting.
Some local jurisdictions, including Harris County, Texas’s most populous, had introduced new voting measures during that election cycle to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Texas law that facilitated the removal of a million voters also sets statewide voting hours, bans drive-through voting methods used for pandemic safety, and grants poll watchers increased access to monitor the election process. Additionally, it prohibits the mass distribution of mail-in ballot applications.
