Texas News

Are you a Texas voter in 'suspense'? Don't freak out. You can still vote in November

KUT 90.5 | By Leigh Walden

Published September 17, 2026 at 11:18 AM CDT

You'll need to update your registration by Oct. 5. Even if you don't, you can still vote — with some extra steps.

More than a million Texans are on the voter suspense list as of March of this year including 71,004 Travis County residents, 12,078 Hays County residents and 36,050 Williamson County residents. Being on the list doesn't mean a voter has been removed from the voting rolls or that they're ineligible to vote in the upcoming election, but may mean that they have extra requirements to fulfill at the polls.

Ending up on the voter suspense rolls can happen for a number of reasons, like if a jury summons or election-related material is marked as undeliverable, or if the state gets an indication that a voter has moved.

The list itself helps Texas keep track of which county residents are eligible to vote in. "Texas counties have utilized the suspense list as a way to keep voter rolls updated and protect the rights of Texans to cast their ballots for many years," said Alicia Pierce, from the Texas Secretary of State's office.

The list was first established in 1995 as part of the state's mechanism to keep voting records up to date.

If you're on the state's suspense list you can still vote, but it might slow you down on Election Day. If you're still living in the same county, you'll have to fill out a statement of residence. If you've moved to a different county within Texas, you should be able to vote via a limited ballot, which only includes statewide races and any races that your old and new address have in common.

Limited ballots are only available during early voting and must be cast at an early-voting polling place.

To avoid these extra steps at the polls, voters anywhere in Texas can check their voting status by going here.

Tarrant County residents can check their status here. Dallas County voters can check their status here. Collin County voters can check their status here. Denton County voters can check their status here.
Voters that need to update their registration or register for the first time can do that by visiting votetexas.gov. The window to register to vote for the November election is Oct. 5.