AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Secretary of State issued a report Wednesday indicating that nearly 25,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the March 1 primary, sharply higher than rejections recorded in prior elections.
The major increase in the number of rejected ballots stems almost entirely from new mail-in ballot identification rules from a controversial election law enacted earlier this year. Before the law, election officials typically saw rejection rates hovering near 1%.
The March 1 primary was the first statewide election that required mail-in voters to submit either their driver’s license number or last four digits of their social security number with the ballot. The election was plagued with problems and confusion across Texas that resulted in rejected applications.
