Fort Bend Election: Officials test new safeguards after May error

Fort Bend County voters arrived at polling places on Tuesday to cast ballots following a technical failure that disrupted every site during the May primary runoff. Elections Administrator Chase Wilson stated that a human error caused the issue, as an employee uploaded an incorrect file. Records obtained by ABC13 indicate the fix took three hours to complete. Some voters were forced to cast provisional ballots while the system was repaired.

Wilson held a news conference hours after the initial problems emerged in May. He has not granted a subsequent interview to ABC13 and did not respond to questions on Monday. The administrator told ABC13 via email this summer that the county added additional oversight and implemented vendor safeguards. He said these measures would be in place by August and tested before the November election.

The county took action regarding the employee who caused the error through a combination of workflow reassignment and restructuring. Wilson expressed hope that Tuesday may be the last election using the current system. He said he aims to have a new voter registration system running by May to avoid similar problems. The administrator described the change as something voters will not notice.

Twila Lewis, who planned to vote Tuesday, said she wanted to hear that changes had been made. Lewis commented on the reliability of the process. “Please get it right. Let's get it right this year so we can all get our votes in, and everyone will count,” Lewis said. She noted that she feels the system should be updated due to corruption concerns regarding voting ballots.

Ese Ogbebor, also planning to vote Tuesday, expressed hope that the problem was corrected. Ogbebor described the potential frustration of the situation. “I would hope they have corrected the problem. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be. I'm assuming there's going to be a line tomorrow. So, I can't even imagine,” Ogbebor said. The county awaits the results from Tuesday's election to determine if the new safeguards functioned as intended.