MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — McLennan County Democratic Party campaign worker Cheryl Foster discovered errors in the Texas Secretary of State's voter database, including one precinct that jumped from 2,400 to 9,400 registered voters.
- The Secretary of State said the statewide Texas Election Administration Management system, TEAM, was upgraded before the November 2025 election and that mid-decade redistricting triggered precinct redistricting at the local level.
- McLennan County is largely insulated from the errors because it uses countywide voting and operates its own voter database, rather than relying solely on the state TEAM system.
- A Tarleton State political science professor warned the errors could sway a close election, pointing to New Jersey where up to 400 non-citizens were able to vote due to a similar software error.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A campaign worker in McLennan County discovered errors in the state's voter database, raising questions about data accuracy ahead of the November election.
Cheryl Foster has spent nearly 15 years charting neighborhoods to cover as a campaign worker for the McLennan County Democratic Party, mapping out who to contact and distributing election information. This year, she noticed errors in the Democrats' database.
"We should have 95 precincts, and then we've got all of these crazy ones," Foster said.
Foster found an additional 22 precincts, 17 of them with one voter in each precinct, two precincts with two voters, and three precincts with no voters.
Foster also found inconsistent voter population numbers within precincts. One of those precincts was Precinct 31.
"When we pulled up that list, it did not have 2,400 people. It had 9,400 people in it," Foster said.
That discovery led her to check the Secretary of State's voter database, where she found the errors originated.
The McLennan County Elections Office did not respond to a request for comment on how the errors impact the county locally. According to the Waco Tribune, County Election Administrator Jared Goldsmith said the county has seen "zero issues and is not affected."
Foster said that is because McLennan County uses countywide voting rather than a precinct-based system, and the county operates its own voter database, the VoTech system, and not exclusively the state's Texas Election Administration Management, system, TEAM.
"So we are fairly insulated from this data catastrophe. Many other counties in the state are not because they're relying solely on TEAM," Foster said.
The Secretary of State told 25News the TEAM system was upgraded before the November 2025 election, and that "mid-decade redistricting triggered precinct redistricting at the local level."
The Secretary of State also said, "Our office monitored this process, identified multiple data alignment issues and worked with counties to address them."
The full statement can be seen below,
"Prior to the November 2025 election, the agency embarked on a once-in-decade upgrade of our TEAM system. This has been a massive undertaking involving the migration of more than 20 million voter files, street maps from all 254 counties, and other key voter registration data. In addition, mid-decade redistricting triggered precinct redistricting at the local level. Each county is responsible for uploading and validating their voter files and newly drawn precinct data into the TEAM system. Our office monitored this process, identified multiple data alignment issues, and worked with counties to address them."
A Tarleton State University political science professor, Dr. Bo Kawala said the errors could have real consequences in a close race.
"In New Jersey now, we know for a fact that up to 400 non-citizens were able to vote because of this software error. So, all it takes is a close election, and you're talking about 100, 200, 300 voters mistakenly shifted into one place or magically appearing. That could absolutely sway a close election," the professor said.
I also reached out to the Republican Party to ask if they have seen the same issue but have not heard back. Foster said she has been monitoring the Secretary of State's database and that some of those errors appear to have been corrected.
You can view your voter registration at VoteTexas.gov to confirm your precinct, address, and registration. Foster encourages anyone living in McGregor, Hewitt or Woodway to check your registration.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
