得克萨斯州的一个系统错误导致数以万计的选民登记申请在数月内未得到处理，迫使县选举官员在距离中期选举仅剩几周的时间里，不得不争分夺秒地处理大量积压的申请。
Error causes backlog of thousands of Texas voter registration applications Finya Swai A Texas system error left tens of thousands of voter registration applications unprocessed for months, forcing county election officials to race to process the large backlogs weeks out from the midterm elections.
得克萨斯州州务卿办公室上周向选举官员通报了这一涉及公共安全部（DPS）系统的问题。当某些申请缺少信息时，它们并未被发送给负责处理登记的县级官员。
The Texas secretary of state’s office alerted election officials to the issue last week involving a problem with the Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) system. When certain applications were missing information, they were not sent to county officials responsible for processing registrations.
这些延迟的记录于周二开始送达地方选举办公室。新闻媒体Votebeat率先报道了此事。
The Texas secretary of state’s office alerted election officials to the issue last week involving a problem with the Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) system. When certain applications were missing information, they were not sent to county officials responsible for processing registrations.
积压申请的数量因县而异。包含圣安东尼奥市的贝克萨尔县收到了超过4.5万份记录，而以奥斯汀市为中心的特拉维斯县则收到了超过3.5万份。全州范围内的总数尚未公布。
The delayed records began reaching local election offices Tuesday. News outlet Votebeat was first to report the issue.
这些记录中有一部分是新的选民登记，其余则是对现有选民信息的更改或重复记录。选举官员必须对这些记录进行审查和分类，以确定哪些申请需要处理。
The size of the backlog varies by county. Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, received more than 45,000 records, while Travis County, anchored by the city of Austin, received more than 35,000. The statewide total has not yet been disclosed.
这一问题出现在得克萨斯州选民登记截止日期（10月5日）前夕，该登记旨在为11月3日的选举做准备。提前投票将于10月19日开始。
A portion of the records are new voter registrations, while others are changes to existing voter information or duplicate records. Election officials must review and sort through them to determine which applications need to be processed.
贝克萨尔县选举管理员米歇尔·卡鲁在一份声明中表示，目前正在加紧处理这些积压的申请。
The problem comes shortly before the Oct. 5 deadline for Texans to for the Nov. 3 elections. Early voting begins Oct. 19.
卡鲁说：“虽然这个数字看起来很高，但选举团队已经在努力审查每一份申请，并将延长工作时间，以确保所有记录在提前投票开始前得到更新。”该错误并不一定意味着受影响的选民将无法投票。
Bexar County Elections Administrator Michele Carew said in a statement that work is currently underway to process the hefty backlog. “While that number may seem high, the Elections team is already hard at work reviewing every application and will be extending hours to make sure all records are updated well before early voting begins,” Carew said.
得克萨斯州州务卿发言人艾丽西亚·皮尔斯告诉美国全国广播公司新闻台（NBC News），如果选民认为自己已经登记但未出现在选民名册上，可以进行临时投票，选举官员随后可以审查公共安全部的信息。
The error does not necessarily mean affected voters will be unable to cast a ballot. Texas secretary of state spokesperson Alicia Pierce told NBC News that someone who believes theyed but is missing from the voter rolls can vote provisionally, and election officials can later review DPS information.
德克萨斯州今年有多场备受关注的全州性选举，其中包括德克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（共和党）与州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科（民主党）争夺一个参议院席位。
Texas has several closely watched statewide elections this year, including a battle between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and state Rep. James Talarico (D) for a Senate seat.
塔拉里科在向美国全国广播公司（NBC）新闻发表的一份声明中，猛烈抨击了该州“不可接受”的系统错误，并敦促选民确认其选民登记状态是否有效。
In a statement to NBC News, Talarico slammed the state over the “unacceptable” system error and encouraged voters to confirm that their registration is valid.
他表示：“距离选民登记截止日期不到两周，数千名德克萨斯州居民目前对自己的选民登记状态一无所知——还有更多人甚至完全不知道这一错误的存在。这就是一个破碎且腐败的政治体系的真实写照：德克萨斯州居民遵守规则，在截止日期前进行投票登记，却仍可能因为政府未能履行职责而失去他们与生俱来的投票权。”
“Less than two weeks before the voter registration deadline, thousands of Texans are now in the dark about their voter registration status — even more aren’t aware of this error at all,” he said. “This is what a broken, corrupt political system looks like: Texans follow the rules, to vote before the deadline, and still risk losing their God-given right to the ballot box because their government failed to do its job.”