KTRK-TV

Fort Bend County, Texas voters cast ballots Tuesday under heightened scrutiny after a technical glitch disrupted every voting site during the May primary runoff. County officials attributed that failure to a human error—an employee uploaded the wrong file—which took roughly three hours to resolve and forced some voters to use provisional ballots. The elections administrator has since said the county added oversight measures and vendor safeguards, tested ahead of the August and November elections, and restructured staff responsibilities tied to the error. Officials also hope to replace the current voter registration system by next May. Voters interviewed expressed cautious hope that the problems have been fixed.

Harris County commissioners approved a partnership with University of Houston researchers to study floating vegetated islands aimed at improving stormwater quality at a county detention basin. The islands, installed this spring at the Stormwater Detention Basin in Reverend William and Audrey Lawson Park, are made of recycled plastic holding native wetland plants whose roots dangle into the water to absorb sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants before they reach bayous.

The three-year, $500,000-plus study is largely funded by a state environmental grant, with the remainder covered by a 2018 flood control bond. Officials hope results could guide wider use of the islands at detention basins region-wide.

Houston officials, under Mayor John Whitmire, presented a draft ordinance to City Council that would push new gas stations away from residential areas and toward major thoroughfares. Whitmire cited quality-of-life complaints, including bright lighting and loitering, as motivating factors. Existing stations would not be affected, and the rule would not take effect until next year.

Because Houston has no citywide zoning, the proposal raises questions about whether it could be a step toward broader land-use regulation. Whitmire said that would require a separate, citywide discussion but didn't rule it out. Houston voters have rejected zoning three times in the past, per Rice University's Kinder Institute.

Harris County is recording strong early voting turnout this midterm, with the Richard and Meg Weekley Community Center in Cypress overtaking the West Gray Multi-Service Center as the county's most-visited polling site, according to county election data. Through four days of early voting, Weekley led with 12,924 votes, followed by the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, Juergens Hall, Trini Mendenhall, and Kingwood community centers. A University of Houston political expert attributes the high turnout partly to the competitive U.S. Senate race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico. Census data shows Cypress's 77433 zip code gained roughly 10,000 residents since 2020, while Pasadena's 77505 lost population. Early voting continues through next week.