Texas local election officials have been quoted in media outlets in recent days saying ballots have been returned to voters for corrections. However, some officials have expressed concern that many flagged vote-by-mail ballots will be sent back to voters too late for them to fix before the upcoming March 1 primary.

The primary is the first major election held in Texas since the controversial Senate Bill 1 was signed into law by Abbott. The Republican-backed legislation requires that the ID used by voters who send mail-in ballots matches their voter registration records. Since many voters registered decades ago, those applying for a mail-in ballot may not remember what ID they originally used in some cases. Other voters have said they don’t feel comfortable providing driver’s license numbers or social security numbers.

“This voter suppression is on purpose and by design, working exactly as Greg Abbott intended,” O’Rourke told Newsweek.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Abbott told Newsweek mail-in ballot issues were the fault of the officials who had misinterpreted the state’s new voting law.

“The bottom line is that counties should not be rejecting valid mail ballot applications,” Nan Tolson, communications operations manager and spokesperson for Abbott, told Newsweek.

“Reports of high rejection rates of mail ballot applications at the county level are the result of election officials erroneously interpreting the law and going to the press instead of the Texas Secretary of State’s office for assistance,” Tolson continued.

Voters who are already registered have the ability to update their registration online to make sure the proper IDs are being used. However, many areas around the state reported issues last weekend. Harris County, the largest county in the state, had reportedly sent back around 37 percent of mail-in ballots due to issues with ID rules.

Along with providing the wrong information, another reason for rejected ballots is people not adhering to the new requirement of providing their driver’s license number or social security number.

“Some voters are not including any [personal ID numbers],” Isabel Longoria, the Harris County Elections Administrator, told local ABC-affiliate KTRK-TV. “They are saying, ‘That is my private information and I don’t want to share,’ or they are including one but not the other, and we have on record their driver’s license number but not their social security number. Even though both numbers are true and accurate and legal, unless we have the same exact number for our file, we can’t match up your mail ballot.”

O’Rourke, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and one-time candidate for U.S. president, said such “voter suppression” was the fault of Abbott for signing the voting law into effect in September 2021.

“The people of Texas understand that it is on all of us to organize each day if we want to overcome it,” he told Newsweek. “That’s why our campaign’s more than 44,000 volunteers are close to accomplishing their historic goal of personally contacting 3 million voters over the course of February at Texans’ doors, over their phones, and in their mailboxes. And it’s why I traveled more than 2,300 miles over the last two weeks to reach voters on the ground in their communities ahead of early voting.”

“By organizing everywhere, returning to every part of Texas, writing nobody off, and taking no person for granted, we will take on voter suppression across Texas,” O’Rourke added.

O’Rourke, who announced his challenge to the governor in November, is considered the favorite to win the Democratic nomination for the gubernatorial election. Meanwhile, Abbott is also expected to take a decisive victory in the primary and secure the Republican nomination as he vies for a third term as governor of Texas.