Did you receive a new voter card? If not, are you on a suspended list?

About 2,000 of the 7,600 or so Franklin County's newest orange voter registration cards were returned as either undeliverable or without a forwarding address provided by the USPS. Could yours be one that is suspended because of the return?

Not all of those cards returned were placed on the suspense lists, says Yesinia Valenzuela Castro, Franklin County Elections Administrator. New cards are normally sent out every two years in November. All counties in the Texas Secretary of State system had to wait on their mass mail-out file this year due to the rollout of a new system. The staggered release for Franklin County was in April 2026.

Because six months had passed between the normal mail-out and preparation of the staggered release for the local county, many things have already changed. “Some voters had already moved and transferred voter registration elsewhere, updated their address, or had passed away. I’m still to this day receiving returned cards,” Ms, Castro said this week.

Returned mail does not automatically mean a voter’s registration is canceled. An undeliverable certificate can trigger a notice-and-suspense process. Cancellation may occur later only under specific circumstances. A second notice is sent from the voter registrar, and a voter's name can either remain on the suspended list or, if a specific time passes and no response is received, be canceled. (See Texas Elections Code Sections 13.146, 15.051, 16.032)

If a local resident thinks they are a registered voter in Franklin County, Texas, and did not receive one of the newest bright orange and white cards with “Valid From 01/01/2026 thru 12/31/2027,” they should check with the local Elections Administrator office for verification. They can also check their registration online through votetexas.gov, part of the Secretary of State’s website.

“I and the staff at the Franklin County Elections Office are always ready and willing to help local residents in the voter registration or clarification process,” emphasized Ms. Castro.

The Elections Administrator, who also serves as the voter registrar, is in the Franklin County East Annex at 502 East Main St., Mount Vernon, TX 75457. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Lunch: noon- 1 p.m.) Monday - Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.

Suspense-list voters can still vote but must verify their address and complete a “Statement of Residence” at the polling place before they can be handed a ballot. If the person has moved to or from another county, or to a different voting precinct within Franklin County, they must re-register at their new address. The last day to register to vote and be eligible to vote in the Nov. 3 General Election, either at a new address or if the person has never before registered as a Franklin County voter, is Monday, Oct. 5, 2026.

Registered voters can already request a by-mail ballot for the Nov. 3, 2026 elections. An application form is available at https://franklincountytxelections.gov/ under the Election Information / Ballot by Mail section. The last day to request a by-mail ballot is Friday, Oct. 23. Except for overseas or military ballots, the elections office must receive by-mail ballots by Nov. 3, Election Day.
Do not miss an opportunity to vote; be registered!