Texas lawmakers scrap new measure allowing late voter registration changes

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The Texas House on Tuesday approved legislation to restore restrictions on late voter registration changes, sending the bill to the governor’s desk and walking back a measure adopted during the regular session.

Texas does not allow same-day registration for new voters, unlike 23 other states. But under legislation that passed with bipartisan support earlier this year, voters could update their addresses at the polls and immediately vote in their new precinct or district, as long as the move was within the county.

On Tuesday, the Texas House passed Senate Bill 54, 86 to 46, returning the state to the status quo and requiring voters to wait 30 days for an address change made at the polls to take effect. Their ballot that day would show races tied to their old address on file.

The measure is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, who called for the measure last month when he added it to his agenda for the Legislature’s ongoing special session.

Some election administrators expressed concern last month about allowing voters to cast ballots immediately based on same-day address changes.

Trudy Hancock, head of the elections department in Brazos County, home to Texas A&M University, said that students move constantly. The volume of changes, made by poll workers at every election without additional address and mapping verification steps election officials typically take, could lead to voters getting the wrong ballot, she said.

“Our election workers are experienced, but they can make mistakes,” she said. “Not all of them are familiar with every single area of the county.”

Some conservatives suggested inaccurately on social media that Texas had implemented same-day voter registration, sparked in part by Abbott’s call for legislation “to prohibit same-day voter registration in Texas” when he expanded his special session agenda.

Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, proposed the measure earlier this year that allowed voters to immediately cast a ballot based on an address change at the polls. Though the change — tacked on as an amendment to another bill — was adopted with bipartisan support, Shaheen on Tuesday said it would be “prudent” for lawmakers to take a closer look at the change during the interim session.

“Once a broader audience and more stakeholders saw the changes that were made, more questions arose,” Shaheen said Tuesday. “I think it’s reasonable and prudent to reverse the amendment that was made and have an interim hearing.”

Disclosure: Texas A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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