FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2021
NEW TEXAS DPS DATA SUPPORTS FULLY IMPLEMENTING ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION
Updated data from the Department of Public Safety shows nearly 1 million Texans have registered online as part of driver license transactions; system reported to be working well and without complication
AUSTIN— While the Texas Legislature hears new voter suppression bills in committee as part of the special called legislative session, new data from the Department of Public Safety indicates over 934,000 Texans have registered to vote online or updated their registration online as part of driver license transactions since the system was implemented by order of a federal judge in September 2020.
“Instead of making it harder to vote and criminalizing our democracy, Texas should modernize its elections and increase voter access by fully implementing online voter registration,” Rep. John Bucy III (D-Austin) said. “Online Voter Registration is efficient, it’s secure, and it allows for as close to real-time updates as possible. It is the biggest tool in the toolbox we have to ensure the accuracy of our voter registration lists.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety began offering voter registration simultaneously as part of online driver license transactions late last year as a result of the ruling from U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio in Stringer v. Hughs, which held that Texas was violating the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 by failing to do so. The previous DPS system required registrants who were engaged in online driver license transactions to fill out a voter registration form that had to be printed and submitted to their voter registrar.
“DPS affirmed to me in their testimony before the House Elections Committee that their online voter registration system was working well and without complication,” Bucy said. “There’s no good reason to limit this to just driver license transactions. Over 40 states, both Republican and Democratic, offer online voter registration. The time for Texas to act is now.”