GP:
Rep. Steve Toth has filed a bill (HB 241) for forensic audit in the Top 13 population counties in Texas.
Here is the current text to HB 241 in the Texas House.
87S10405 MLH-D
By: Toth H.B. No. 241
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT relating to a forensic audit of 2020 election results in certain counties.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 16, Election Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 280 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 280. FORENSIC AUDIT OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION
Sec. 280.001. FORENSIC AUDIT OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION. (a)
The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
representatives shall appoint an independent third party to conduct
a forensic audit of the general election that took place on November
3, 2020.
(b) The independent third party appointed under Subsection
(a) shall audit every precinct in each county with a population of
415,000 or more.
(c) The audit under this section must begin not later than
November 1, 2021, and be completed not later than February 1, 2022.
(d) Not later than March 1, 2022, the independent third
party conducting the audit under this section shall submit a report
to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
representatives, and each member of the legislature detailing any
anomalies or discrepancies in voter data, ballot data, or
tabulation.
(e) This chapter expires April 1, 2022.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.
I think if enough red states do this, and irregularities are found in the majority of them, then the blue states would almost have to have audits. (yeah, I know they won’t).
Particularly Houston
Audits followed by inaction are just audits. They’ve yet to impress me with their snail pace.
I often wondered how on Earth the false Hispanic, Beto O’Rourke, could have come so close to defeating Ted Cruz. Now I know.
Rural areas and smaller cities are mostly red in Texas but the big cities are blue and that is where the fraud will be found. Paper ballots in my county because programming the voting machines was too costly and it is easy to recount those when needed.
It definitely is way past time to get this done. In reality, an audit should be SOP after each and every election. Free, fair, honest elections are the very cornerstone of our Republics and must be fully transparent and accountable at all local, state, and federal levels. The People must have confidence in their vote.
I do have a problem with Toth’s legislative effort, however. Under it, an audit is kicked off, collectively, by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and House Speaker. With all due respect, Constitutionally, the legislature is already fully invested with the authority to move this forward, on its own, without the Executive. Watering their authority down with that is a poison pill.
Further, concerning election matters, the legislature, per the federal Constitution, exclusively owns all aspects of election management and oversight, soup to nuts. The existing quorum rules are for regular legislation, which can, and should be set aside for this effort.
If the Dems want to participate, they need to get their recalcitrant butts back to the state, into the House, and do the job Texas voters hired them for…represent them, not national and/or foreign special interests. If they want to abandon the field, so be it…Abbott needs to quit posturing and follow through: declare their seats vacated, and order special elections to replace them ASAP…with paper ballots…no machines. Election oversight by Texas Rangers may be prudent for certain down-state counties with historical fraud and irregularity entrenchment.
IATS
TWD