Over 35,000 voters removed from local election rolls in recent years

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The El Paso County Election Department has removed 35,854 people from the local voter rolls in the last few years, based on issues with addresses, deaths or moving away among others required to be done by election law.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has touted the removal of more than 1.15 million people from the voter rolls since 2021, including more than 6,500 noncitizens. There were no noncitizen removals shown from the county's rolls for the same time period.

In a statement this week, Gov. Abbott said he has signed the strongest election security laws in the nation including Senate Bill 1 in 2021.

"We will continue to actively safeguard Texans’ sacred right to vote while also aggressively protecting our elections from illegal voting," Gov. Abbott said in the statement.

Of those removed from the voter rolls across the state, more than 1,054,000 were listed as being deceased, having moved, or that were put on the state's 'suspense list' for issues with their addresses. The local impacts to the voter rolls show the majority removed in El Paso county were in similar categories.

According to the county elections department, there were zero noncitizens and 692 voters with felony convictions removed from the rolls since 2021, while 11,744 deceased and 20,529 voters on the suspense list were removed. Voters are placed on the suspense list if their voter registration cards or other state mail are returned undeliverable.

1,460 voters removed from the list had confirmed they had moved away, while 1,314 did not respond to notices of examination of their qualifications to vote. 115 voters had requested their registration be cancelled.

“The El Paso County Elections Department is committed to making sure our voter rolls are accurate and up to date and that every eligible Texan’s voice is heard," a spokesperson for the department said in a statement sent to KVIA. "Voter lists are carefully maintained daily by experienced public servants in accordance with Texas law. In addition to regular list maintenance, the election code tasks the county with processing new voter registrations which the state then verifies. We are committed to making sure our elections are accurate, fair, and secure."

Anyone with questions about their registration status can contact the county elections department at (915) 546-2154 or visit https://epcountyvotes.com/voter-information/dashboard.