Nearly 70,000 Collin County Voters Are in Suspense — Are You One of Them?

By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews

Nearly 70,000 Collin County voters are currently listed in suspense, representing almost 9% of the county’s 777,141 registered voters as the November general election approaches.

The number comes as candidates and political groups have been encouraging Texans to check their voter registration status. But being in suspense does not mean a voter has been removed from the rolls or lost the ability to vote.

What does being in suspense mean?

Being placed in suspense does not mean a voter has been removed from the rolls.

“It is important to note that voters who are in suspense are still eligible to vote in elections across the State,” Collin County Elections Administrator Kaleb Breaux said. “Voters may be required to complete some additional paper work, like a Statement of Residence, prior to casting their ballot.”

Breaux said one way a voter enters suspense is when a voter registration certificate is returned as undeliverable. The county then sends a notice asking the voter to confirm their address.

“If the voter responds, they are put into active status. If the voter never responds they stay in suspense,” Breaux said.

Breaux said he could not provide a breakdown of why each of Collin County’s 69,364 suspense voters received that designation without reviewing the records individually.

He previously said a large number of voters were placed in suspense following midterm redistricting after voter certificates, which are non-forwardable, were returned to the Elections Department.

When suspense can lead to removal

“If a voter is in suspense for 2 federal elections, they are removed from the voter registration list,” Breaux said.

Under the Texas Election Code, the timing is more specifically Nov. 30 following the second general election for state and county officers after the voter was placed on the suspense list.

Federal law also limits what counties can do with voter rolls in the months immediately before an election.

“We are currently in the 90-day window of a federal election, which does not allow for mass voter purges from our voter rolls,” Breaux said. “This is an important point that should not be missed.”

Breaux said voter registrars must pause systematic removal programs during that period, with exceptions including voters who voluntarily cancel their registration, voters who have died, and certain voters who become ineligible because of a felony conviction or an adjudication of mental incapacity.

Once the 90-day period ends, those restrictions no longer prevent the county from resuming its normal voter-registration maintenance.

“After the 90-day NVRA moratorium, we can continue normal VR maintenance activities,” Breaux said. “This would include purging voters in the situation that I described above.”

A local voter’s experience

The inquiry began after a Collin County voter attending college out of state discovered their registration was in suspense and that an out-of-state college address was listed as the mailing address. The voter said they never provided that address to Collin County Elections.

The voter said they maintain their permanent residence in Collin County, voted in person in 2024 and did not request a mail ballot. Breaux said he would need identifying information about the voter before determining how the address was added or why the registration was placed in suspense.

Texas previously removed more than 1.1 million registrations

In August 2024, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that Texas had removed more than 1.1 million voter registrations since September 2021.

The state said the total included more than 457,000 deceased people, more than 463,000 voters on the suspense list, more than 134,000 voters who confirmed they had moved and more than 65,000 who failed to respond to a notice of examination. Other removals included voters who requested cancellation and those with felony convictions.

The 1.1 million figure does not include Collin County’s current 69,364 suspense voters as removals. Those voters remain registered and eligible to vote.

Check your registration

“If a voter is curious about their voting status in Collin County, we encourage them to log on to our website at collincountytx.gov/elections, and verify their status by performing a voter registration search,” Breaux said.

Collin County voters can check their status through the Collin County Elections voter registration search. Texas voters can also check their registration through the Texas Secretary of State’s My Voter Portal.

Voters who find their registration in suspense can contact the Collin County Elections Department to determine whether any action is needed before voting.