Texas officials have announced a forensic audit of election results in four counties in response to a request from former President Donald Trump.
The Secretary of State’s Office announced the audit in Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, and Collin counties just hours after Trump published a letter calling on Governor Greg Abbott to undertake such a move. The former president has sought to cast doubt on the 2020 election results and he continues to push claims of voting fraud ahead of a possible bid for a second term in 2022.
Trump wrote in his letter, “Despite my big win in Texas, I hear Texans want an election audit! You know your fellow Texans have big questions about the November 2020 Election.”
“Bills to audit elections in your great state’s House and Senate were considered during Texas’ Second Special Session. Instead, the legislature passed a watered-down amendment that doesn’t even apply to the 2020 Presidential Election.”
“… Texans demand a real audit to completely address their concerns… we’re quikly running out of time (before the 2022 election) and it must be done this week. Texand know voting fraud occurred in some of their counties,” Trump added.
The Secretary of State’s Office announced Thursday night, “Under existing Texas laws, the Secretary of State has the authority to conduct a full and comprehensive forensic audit of any election and has already begun the process in Texas’ two largest Democrat counties and two largest Republican counties—Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, and Collin—for the 2020 election.”
“We anticipate the Legislature will provide funds for this purpose.”
Ruth Hughes, the former secretary of state, left office in May after the Texas Senate declined to hold a confirmation hearing for her. Some political observers commented that the reason for her ouster was that her office had called the 2020 election in Texas “smooth and secure.”
Hughes has not yet been replaced and the secretary of state position remains vacant.
Forensic Audit ‘Needless and a Waste of Time’
Following the announcement of the new audit, the League of Women Voters of Texas condemned the move as unnecessary.
“Our 2020 election was above reproach,” said President Grace Chimene. “The partisan call for election reviews is needless and a waste of time for our hard-working elections officials.”
“We know that political extremists have forced illegitimate election reviews in several other states. In each instance, nothing was found. Nevertheless, the states had to pay for these reviews and for the damages to the election equipment. Now the Texas Secretary of State has called on the Legislature to fund the current reviews in our state. Taxpayer money should not be spent on such a pointless exercise.”
“The results in Texas from the 2020 election are clear — one party’s candidates carried the presidential election and every statewide seat, just as they have since the mid-1990s. These reviews are a waste of state resources and taxpayer money. They undermine the hard work of county election officials and workers. They are aimed at ripping our election process apart and undermining our democratic foundation.”
Similarly, Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria criticized the audit as as “political posturing.” She urged residents to turn their attention instead to the upcoming November election, which they can register for before October 4.
