Harris County voter registration discrepancy causes one voter to panic ahead of Oct. 7 deadline

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) – Some Houston residents who checked their state’s website to see if they were registered to vote reported that they could not find their names.

In some cases, a website operated by Harris County showed that they were registered to vote.

Robert, a 72-year-old homeless man from northwest Houston, said he has always been proud to vote.

“I’ve only missed two elections since I was 18,” he told ABC13.

But Robert said when he looked VoteTexas.gov On a website of the Texas Secretary of State, no one was registered as a voter with his name and date of birth.

“I have been registered in this district since 2015 and vote at the same polling station,” he said.

Robert was initially concerned that he was one of more than a million Texans who had been purged from the voter rolls since a law went into effect in 2021.

The governor’s office said only ineligible voters would be excluded, including more than 6,500 suspected non-citizens.

“I don’t look Hispanic. I’m an American citizen. I was born in the state of Michigan. My grandfather happens to be a full-blooded Native American,” Robert said.

“It really annoyed me that my friend is here, man, especially because his grandfather is an Indian, man,” said Robert’s friend Bruce. “He has more rights than most of us, man.”

However, if you take a closer look at the VoteTexas.gov website, you will see the following disclaimer:

“‘Am I Registered?’ provides a web-based search of data from the Texas statewide voter registration database. It is NOT the official record of your registration held by the voter registration office in the county where you reside.”

ABC13 searched for Robert on the Harris County Voter Registrar website. HCTAX.net, and found that he was registered to vote.

“But why am I not in Texas?” he asked.

Eyewitness News has reached out to the Secretary of State’s office, but since it is a Saturday, the hours are outside of normal business hours.

Robert has already seen proof that he is registered to vote, but he plans to go to the Elections Office on Monday to confirm this.

If you are not registered to vote, the deadline is October 7.

For news follow Luke Jones on Facebook, X and Instagram.