Elections

The Lubbock County Elections Office is currently working through a backlog of more than 7,500 voter registrations after a technical error at the Texas Department of Public Safety led to a flood of updates to process for county elections offices across the state. On Friday, the E.L. Reed Herbarium is celebrating its 100th birthday; the herbarium opened in 1925 and now has more than 31,000 plant specimens available online. The Panhandle South Plains Fair also starts today with attractions including pig racing, a hypnotist, a chainsaw juggler, rides and more.

The Lubbock County Elections Office received a backlog of more than 7,500 voter registrations due to a technical error with the Department of Public Safety's online registration portal. Lubbock County’s new Elections Administrator, Troy Havard, assures voters the backlog will not delay or affect anyone’s ability to vote in the November general election when early voting begins on Oct. 19.

Getting on the list can happen for a number of reasons, but it's not hard to update your registration.

A handful of conservative voters in Hood County say they're either voting for Democrats or sitting out the election.

Rural emergency medical service providers from West Texas appeared before Texas’ House State Affairs Committee yesterday, requesting that the legislature expand funding for rural ambulance operators. A Texas nonprofit is giving high-school students a chance to practice voting before they're old enough to cast an official ballot. Texas Public Radio’s Kory Cook reports students can participate individually, even if their school doesn't host an event.

The Republican Party's first-ever midterm convention begins in Dallas as Trump and GOP leaders rally voters, while Democrats prepare their own counterprogramming ahead of November.

Earlier this year, the national cattle herd hit a 75-year low. Now, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says a new initiative will help grow the number of cattle in the U.S. Meanwhile, more than a million Texas voters have been placed on “voter suspense” lists. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider reports those voters will have to update their addresses by October 5th or face additional paperwork on Election Day before they can cast their ballots.

After hitting his GOP foe for voting under an address where he no longer lived, the Tribune and ProPublica found the Democratic Senate candidate also appears to have done so.

Lubbock’s District 4 has a new city council representative in Tim Green after this weekend’s runoff election. Green’s term will last until 2028.

After 23 years of serving the people of Lubbock County, Roxzine Stinson is retiring at the end of July. She sat down with the KTTZ news team to reflect on her time as elections administrator, the challenges and rewards of the position, and some of her most memorable moments in office.