<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9" xmlns:news="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-news/0.9" xmlns:image="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1"><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/texas/2026/09/24/dps-voter-registration-applications-error-paul-bettencourt-team/</loc><lastmod>2026-09-24T22:54:20.009Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-09-24T22:54:20.009Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[Key GOP lawmaker says state should have caught error that caused Texas voter registration backlog]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/PARQGX2ASNBNRG56D6OHEBEUX4.jpg?auth=3c4a2221e82ddd0ac21a746dda247f703b5dea90ba483f03b89b73b55f529dd3&amp;smart=true&amp;width=2500&amp;height=1667</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston,  on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Austin on June 1, 2025. Bettencourt said the Texas Secretary of State's Office should have caught a Department of Public Safety error that led to a backlog of voter registration applications and updates.]]></image:caption></image:image></url><url><loc>https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/09/24/midterm-2026-election-preparation-federal-interference/</loc><lastmod>2026-09-24T16:36:17.361Z</lastmod><changefreq>always</changefreq><priority>0.5</priority><news:news><news:publication><news:name>Votebeat</news:name><news:language>en</news:language></news:publication><news:publication_date>2026-09-24T16:36:17.361Z</news:publication_date><news:title><![CDATA[Across the country, election officials are preparing for the possibility of federal intervention ]]></news:title></news:news><image:image><image:loc>https://www.votebeat.org/resizer/v2/R5SDBVTOXJCHTAI3XFZCMP5EAI.jpg?auth=68e0fa30a24a6f1ee10ef4ce07499119d8bd49b81b0c260d8a2c6a1bfa12e4d4&amp;smart=true&amp;width=2612&amp;height=1513</image:loc><image:caption><![CDATA[Election officials from all across South Carolina gathered in Charleston on Sept. 11, 2026, where they practiced how they would respond to various disruptions and crises on Election Day.]]></image:caption></image:image></url></urlset>