Are You Still Registered? The Importance of Verifying Your Voter Status in Texas

Navigating Texas's Voter Purge Tactics

If you need to verify you are registered to vote in the November election, go here.

The right to vote is one of the most precious and fundamental pillars of our democracy. It is the mechanism through which we, the people, hold our government accountable and ensure our voices are heard.

The value of this sacred right is why it is under constant threat.

In Texas, there has been a persistent effort by Republicans to undermine and restrict voting access. These efforts, often cloaked in the guise of “election integrity,” are thinly veiled attempts to disenfranchise voters perceived as unfavorable to their political agenda.

Whether you registered five years or thirty years ago, it’s always a good idea in a Republican-led Texas to verify your registration to ensure you haven’t been removed from the voter rolls.

For years, we have witnessed a series of voter suppression tactics aimed at making it more difficult for certain groups to exercise their right to vote. From extreme voter ID laws to aggressive voter roll purges, the measures put in place disproportionately impact minority communities, young voters, and those with lower socioeconomic status. The underlying message is clear: the power of the vote is immense, and those who wish to maintain control are willing to go to great lengths to diminish this power.

The 2019 voter purge efforts in Texas are an example of this malicious strategy in action.

Based on flawed data, nearly 100,000 registered voters were flagged as potential non-citizens, resulting in the disenfranchisement of many naturalized citizens who were fully eligible to vote. It took legal battles and public outcry to halt this discriminatory practice. This incident showed that there was a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise eligible voters through flawed and discriminatory practices.

Every single legislative session, Republicans bend over backward to implement voter suppression methods through whatever avenue ALEC-written bills have crafted for them. These efforts are usually led by Voter Disenfranchisement Czar Paul Bettencourt in the Texas Senate and Valoree “Tony Soprano” Swanson in the Texas House.

Further reading:

• Bettencourt Strikes Again: New Legislation Limits Election Officials and Adds Obstacles

Here’s a video of Valoree Swanson from 2022 talking about how Alan Vera (now-deceased Harris County GOP activist) had people work on election integrity from home to clean up the voter rolls.

The specific disenfranchisement effort Valoree Swanson was discussing in this video is something the Harris County GOP has been doing for many years. They would find every Democrat who checked the disability box and have their volunteers comb through those voters’ social media.

If they see people on social media who have selected disabled on their voting registration but don’t look disabled, they try to get them purged from the voter rolls and indicted on fraud.

Here is just one of several 2020 emails that were leaked to me in 2022 by Harris County GOP insiders, confirming from Alan Vera this is what they were doing:

You can see my 2022 article and the other GOP leaked emails on the old Living Blue website. July 2022: Harris County GOP Actively Disenfranchising Democrats And The Disabled

I don’t think anything came of this in 2022, although Rodney Ellis’ office was contacted behind these voting purge schemes led by Valoress Swanson and Alan Vera. It should be noted that Alan Vera passed away at the Texas Capitol in 2023, when he traveled to give testimony on alleged voter fraud, just as he had done for the many sessions prior.

The voter purge schemes go beyond Paul Bettencourt and Valoree Swanson.

Earlier this week, CNN published a report about the right-wing organization “True the Vote,” which is based in Texas and has been participating in voter purge schemes for many years. Just listen to how they challenged thousands of voters in Denton County:

To understand how deep this problem is, you must know that True the Vote has been operating this scheme in Texas for over a decade. Here is the late, great Elija Cummings talking about the launch of a 2012 investigation against True the Vote.

Catherine Engelbrecht founded the Texas-based nonprofit True the Vote, helped create the Big Lie, and enriched herself with millions of dollars from it.

Ture the Vote has been under legal scrutiny for years but has escaped all consequences of its un-democratic actions.

Malicious efforts to remove Democrats from the ballots in Texas are one reason to double-check your registration before each election.

(The link to verify your registration is at the top of the page.)

One lesser-known but significant threat to voter registration in Texas is the “suspense list.” This list includes voters who have not participated in two consecutive federal elections. Once placed on the suspense list, voters must update their voter information or vote in subsequent elections to avoid being removed from the voter rolls altogether.

Sometimes, if a person has missed an election or two, they’ll look up their registration and find out they are on the “suspense” list but erroneously read it as “suspended” and panic.

Don't freak out if you're on the “suspense” list. You’ll still be able to vote.

How Does the Suspense List Work?

When a voter does not participate in two consecutive federal elections, election officials move their registration to a suspense list. This action is typically taken under the assumption that the voter may have moved or is otherwise no longer eligible to vote at their registered address. Voters on the suspense list are still eligible to vote. Still, they must confirm their residence by providing updated information to their local elections office or simply voting in a subsequent election. Failure to do so may result in their removal from the voter rolls.

The suspense list disproportionately affects certain groups of voters, particularly those who may not vote regularly due to various socioeconomic reasons, such as minority communities, the elderly, and young voters. Many voters are unaware they have been placed on the suspense list until they attempt to vote and find they are no longer registered. This creates an additional barrier to voting, as affected individuals must go through the process of re-registering or updating their information, which can be cumbersome and discouraging.

To protect your right to vote, checking your voter registration status regularly is crucial, especially if you have not voted in recent elections. By ensuring your information is current, you can avoid being placed on the suspense list and ensure your voice is heard in every election. Regardless of its perceived importance, voting in every election also helps maintain your active voter status.

The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.

Lyndon B. Johnson

We must trudge through these hurdles as long as it takes to flip Texas blue.

In a perfect world, Vice President Harris would win this November, and Democrats would take control of the Congress and US Senate. They would subsequently pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would end decades of GOP voter oppression in Texas. We would no longer be a suppressed state.

However, the wheels of Congress move almost as slow as the wheels of justice, and Texas could still turn blue, even while being under the thumb of oppression, simply because we outnumber them.

Once Democrats flip the Texas legislature, they’ll need to push through aggressively:

• Automatic voter registration.

• Same-day voter registration.

• Expand early voting.

• Expand mail-in voting.

• Require transparency in voter roll purges.

• Ban citizens from making challenges to the voter rolls.

• Improve accessibility for disabled voters.

• Restore drive-thru voting.

• Restore 24-hour voting.

There is probably still much more that they can do.

Until we flip the Legislature or gain a majority with the Presidency in Washington DC, we’re at the mercy of Conservative law.

It sucks, but the day that liberty and freedom are fully restored in Texas is not just a distant dream; it is a tangible reality on the horizon. With every election in Texas, we come closer to reclaiming our democratic rights and ensuring that every Texan’s voice is heard.

The resilience and determination of Texas Democrats are driving us toward a future where oppressive tactics and voter suppression are relics of the past. The dawn of a free and fair Texas is coming soon, with it, the promise of a brighter tomorrow for all.

Until then, check your registration often (link at the top of the page), vote early, vote often, just vote.

• August 19: Last day for write-in candidates to declare their candidacy.

• October 7: Last day to register to vote.

• October 21: First day to early vote.

• October 25: Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot.

• November 1: Last day to early vote.

• November 5: Election day!

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