FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – Officials in Fort Bend County said Tuesday’s voting system disruption was caused by “human error” after the wrong election file was uploaded into the voter check-in system ahead of the primary runoff election.
Despite the interruption, election officials emphasized that the integrity of the voting process was not compromised.
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During a 6 p.m. press conference, Interim Fort Bend County Judge Daniel Wong said the issue was caused by “human error” after the wrong election file was uploaded into the voter check-in system ahead of Tuesday’s primary runoff election.
Wong said election and administrative staff began working on the issue as soon as it was identified and restored the system shortly after 5 p.m. He described the issue as “administrative in nature” and said there were “no concerns regarding the integrity or security” of the election process.
Fort Bend County Elections Administrator Chase Wilson said reports of issues at voting locations began coming in around 2:30 p.m. Officials later determined that an incorrect election file from the May 2 election had mistakenly been uploaded instead of the proper May 26 primary runoff election file.
Wilson said the county’s election vendor was not responsible for the issue. During the outage, impacted voters were offered provisional ballots while election workers worked to restore the system.
Officials also discussed potentially extending polling hours at affected locations due to the roughly two-hour disruption. However, county officials said both party chairs would have needed to agree to the request.
Fort Bend County Republican Party Chair Greg Barns said he supported extending voting hours, arguing the outage added to existing public skepticism about voting systems.
“The public is already skeptical of voting centers, and this issue increased concerns,” Barns said during the press conference.
However, officials said the Democratic Party chair did not agree to the extension request.
“We are urging voters in Fort Bend County to get in line and stay in line before 7 p.m. and to demand a regular ballot,” said Amanda Lugo, Voter Protection Director for the Texas Democratic Party. “Please do not leave the polling place without voting. If you are not provided a regular ballot, you have the right to vote on a provisional ballot.”