RICHMOND, TEXAS — Voting check-in issues occurred during the May 1, 2026, runoff election in Fort Bend County, leaving some voters unable to check in and requiring them to use provisional ballots. Officials stated the problems began at 2:30 p.m. and lasted for hours. There was no information about the issue on the county's website or social media platforms when it started.

Fort Bend County Commissioner Dexter McCoy, a candidate for county judge, posted a video on his campaign's social media around 4 p.m., approximately 90 minutes after the issue started. "I've talked to the election's administrator and IT department, and they told me they're working on a solution to make sure they get them back up and running," McCoy said. Elections Administrator Chase Wilson wrote, "We immediately contacted the vendor who provided a solution, that we were informed could take up to an hour and 20 minutes." The issue took more than double that estimated time to resolve.

The elections administrator contacted the county GOP chair an hour after the problems began. Wilson said the first direct communication with the judge's office took place at 5 p.m. Around 5:30 p.m., Wilson sent an email to Trever Nehls, the county judge's chief of staff, and Bobby Eberle, a communication person for the county judge's office. The judge's office announced a news conference minutes after this email. The voting issues were resolved by 5:45 p.m., and a news conference took place at 6 p.m.

Wilson stated he believed he was indirectly communicating with the judge's office through the GOP chair earlier. He said communication needs to improve among officials and in informing the public. Wilson added that they are working on a new system to get information faster to the media and post it on social media faster. County officials stated that election integrity was not compromised.

ABC13 requested documents regarding the voting issue from the elections administrator, the county judge's staff, and McCoy. Fort Bend County sent ABC13 a bill for $324 to obtain the information, which ABC13 paid. McCoy stated he had nothing in writing regarding the voting issue. The elections administrator provided one email that had been shared with the county judge's staff. County officials stated there is one document from the judge's staff related to the request and asked the staff to provide it; however, ABC13 has not received this document. ABC13 questioned the $324 bill after receiving only one email, and county officials told ABC13 they would issue a refund.