Brownsville, TX (KRGV) — A backlog in Texas' voter registration system could force some Rio Grande Valley voters to cast provisional ballots during early voting, Channel 5 News found.

The backlog comes from technical problems with the state's new voter registration system, which delayed records being sent to election offices. Votebeat reported on Friday that county officials learned about another state error that backlogged 15,000 voter registration records. This happened just days after officials said they cleared a backlog of more than 500,000 voter registration records.

Channel 5 News called the election offices in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy, and learned nearly 5,000 records across the Valley were part of the latest backlog. County offices processed all of those records except about 3,000 in Starr County.

The Starr County elections administrator told Channel 5 News that affected voters will be required to vote provisionally. Election departments say people who registered by the Oct. 5, 2026, deadline may still be able to vote.

Cameron County Election Administrator Remi Garza says staff are working to make sure registration issues do not prevent people from voting.

“Since the beginning, we've had challenges implementing the data that we're getting out of the system, but we've got a lot of good, hardworking people here in Cameron County and throughout the state that are making sure the voters aren't affected,” Garza said.

Garza says once a voter's registration is processed, that voter should not have an issue casting a ballot. Garza says voting early can allow election officials more time to review information if they still need to verify a voter's status.

“Even if you're asked to cast a provisional ballot, that still gives us our time to research it so that we can get your vote qualified if you're ready to go,” Garza said.

Early voting runs through Oct. 30, 2026, and Election Day is Nov. 3, 2026.

Click here for more election resources.

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