The word “suspense” can sound alarming, especially now that the Oct. 5 registration deadline has passed. But if you’re one of the more than 300,000 Harris County voters on the suspense list, you can still vote. In fact, election officials are urging voters on the list to show up and cast their ballots.
“It means that they have to engage in an extra step when it comes to participation,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. “There’s a risk that this could either make people think they’re not able to vote, which means they won’t vote. Or it could mean that the extra burden of facilitating the vote is too much for them, and the cost is too high, so they choose not to vote.”
That’s especially important in Third Ward, where a Defender analysis of voter registration data found nearly one in four registered voters are on the suspense list, more than twice the rate countywide.
In ZIP code 77004, which includes much of Third Ward and is home to Texas Southern University and the University of Houston, 23% of registered voters are in suspense. Countywide, the rate is about 11%.
How Third Ward compares
The Defender looked at the five Houston-area ZIP codes with the most voters on the suspense list, a mix of neighborhoods across the city and suburbs.
In four of them, the share of voters in suspense was about 1 in 7 or lower:
- Washington Avenue/Rice Military (77007)
- Westchase/Energy Corridor (77077)
- Willowbrook (77070)
- West Harris County (77084), the lowest of the group, at about 1 in 9
The Third Ward was the outlier, at nearly 1 in 4.
Voters usually land on the suspense list when county mail is returned as undeliverable, or when they don’t respond to a notice requesting confirmation of their address. Most often, that happens because people move.
The Defender’s analysis found concentrations in Third Ward near Texas Southern University and the University of Houston, where students often register at a campus address and then move the following year. Across Harris County, suspense voters also tend to cluster in apartment complexes, where renters move more often. That’s true in wealthy neighborhoods as well as working-class ones.
That means many of the voters on the list are young people who are still living in Houston and still eligible to vote. They may not know their registration has been flagged.
“People can still participate, but it’s just a question of whether or not they feel like they can,” Rottinghaus said.
What the county says
Harris County Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez said her office is asking voters on the suspense list to confirm or update their address.
“People can still participate, but it’s just a question of whether or not they feel like they can.”
Brandon Rottinghaus
“But if, for some reason, you were unable to update that registration before October 5, then you can still show up at the polls to vote. But when you do that, when the poll worker goes to check you in, they’re going to ask you to complete a statement of residence (SOR), to confirm where you live, and then they’re going to go on to let you vote,” Ramirez said.
The county eventually cancels registrations that remain on the suspense list for years without being updated, so it’s worth taking care of now, even if you vote this year.
Are you on the suspense list?
You are still an eligible voter. Being on the suspense list does not stop you from voting. It just means your address needs to be confirmed.
Check your status
- Texas Secretary of State: “Am I Registered?” at VoteTexas.gov
- Harris County Tax Office: hctax.net 713-274-8200.
- Statewide voter hotline: 1-800-252-VOTE (8683)
Voting this November?
- If you moved within Harris County: Vote as usual. When you check in, you’ll fill out a short Statement of Residence, then you can cast your ballot.
- If you moved to Harris County from another Texas county: You may be able to cast a limited ballot, but only during early voting, at the county’s main early-voting location. Don’t wait until Election Day.
Fix it for future elections
You can update your voter registration online, by mail, or in person. Online updates are available on the Texas Secretary of State website at Texas.gov. Changes made now apply to future elections. For Nov. 3, use the Statement of Residence at the polls.
Key dates
- Oct. 19–30: Early voting
- Oct. 23: Last day for the county to receive a mail-ballot application
- Nov. 3: Election Day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tannistha Sinha contributed to this report.
