Here’s how Texas plans to conduct 2020 election audit in Tarrant, three other counties
The Texas Secretary of State’s Office will audit the 2020 general election results in two phases, according to a news release it sent out Tuesday evening.
The office announced Sept. 23 it would audit election results in Tarrant County and three other counties — Dallas, Harris and Collin. They are the two largest Democrat counties and two largest Republican counties.
The state announced Tuesday the first phase of the audits will focus on testing voting machine accuracy, cybersecurity assessments and identifying and removing ineligible voters who cast ballots in 2020. The last measure is already completed or underway in the counties being audited, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
The second phase, expected to start next spring, will conduct a comprehensive examination of election records.
Counties in Texas are required to maintain records in the audit for at least 22 months, according to Texas’ election code.
The list of documents being examined includes accuracy testing records for voting machines, lists of registered voters and early voting rosters, residency statements and some ballot applications, as well as signature verification committee materials and Early Voting Ballot Board materials.
Review of the records could trigger a recount of ballots, according to the office.
“After a thorough examination of the above mentioned records and materials in each county, irregularities or deviations from election administration procedures that may have affected the accuracy of the electronic voting system ballot count could trigger a full manual recount of ballots in the affected precincts or polling locations,” the news release reads.
The audit comes after former President Donald Trump called on Gov. Abbott to add an election audit to the special session agenda.
Trump lost the election to President Joe Biden, receiving about about 47% of the votes to Biden’s 51%. He has continued to push unsubstantiated claims of election fraud since the November general election.
While he lost nationwide, Trump won in Texas with 52% of votes. In Tarrant County, Biden narrowly won with 49.3% of votes to Trump’s 49.1%. Trump received 51% of votes in Collin County, 43% in Harris and 33% in Dallas.
In Tarrant County, thousands of mail in-ballots were rejected because the bar codes were not legible, though the ballots were recopied so the votes could be counted.
Republican-backed audits of the 2020 election have been pursued in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona.
Tarrant County and the audit
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said Sept. 24 the county is “more than ready to assist” in the audit. The Republican said he does not believe there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election in the county. He said he was made aware of the audit when it was announced by the Texas Secretary of State’s office on Sept. 23.
Whitley expressed confidence that the election was conducted fairly and with integrity, and that the ballot board overseeing the counting of absentee ballots did “everything in their power to make sure that if a ballot was cast, it was cast by the individual whose name was on that ballot.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 7:32 PM.