NEW: We’re launching an investigation into Texas’ election “audit.” In Sept., the Texas secretary of state’s office announced a “full forensic audit” of the 2020 election — just hours after former President Trump publicly asked Gov. Greg Abbott to do so. americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Trump’s demand for the investigation in Texas came nearly a year after he won the state by a 5.6 percent margin. The “audit” will focus on results in Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, and Collin counties, all of which except Collin were won by Joe Biden.
We submitted 14 new records requests that ask for the release of communications from the secretary of state, governor, and attorney general’s offices as well as the elections departments & county commissioners in Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, & Collin counties concerning this "audit."
The Texas effort follows similar democracy-undermining investigations in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and represents another attempt to sow doubt about the election’s outcome and give fuel to the Big Lie.
The results of the 2020 election are not in doubt and there have been no credible allegations of fraud or misconduct. The fallout from these baseless investigations is a deepening sense of democratic distrust and the undermining of the U.S.’s electoral system.
Our ongoing investigation into the “audit” in Arizona has already forced the public release of more than 80,000 pages of records, including emails revealing extensive partisan bias and involvement of conspiracy theorists in the ballot review.
These new requests are a part of our broader investigation into threats to democracy in Texas and across the country. More information on our investigations in Texas is available here. americanoversight.org/investigation/…
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We obtained emails sent by Jeff Sessions, Trump’s first attorney general, regarding the Trump administration’s family-separation policy. Sessions praised the policy’s results and discussed religious justifications for the harsh policy. americanoversight.org/in-emails-jeff…
In June 2018 — two months after Sessions announced the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy — former Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein forwarded Sessions an email
that indicated a decline in U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehensions of undocumented people at the border.
“Thanks,” Sessions responded. “I’m very interested in this. Keep on it. Every decline in entry’s is huge reducing those who got past border too. With the decline and continued prosecution numbers the percentage goes up and we are in virtuous cycle.”
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hired retired state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to oversee an investigation of the state’s election results. This week, Gableman said he does not understand how elections work. jsonline.com/story/news/pol…
In late August, the price tag for the investigation ballooned to nearly $680,000, and news reports indicated that Reince Priebus, who had led the state’s Republican Party before serving as RNC chair & then Trump’s chief of staff, was involved in conversations about its planning.
“Hope with all the efforts we will [be] able to make AZ ruby red again,” an Arizona Republican who is identified as “audit personnel” in records we’ve obtained, texted a top “audit” official in May. americanoversight.org/new-arizona-au…
New Arizona “audit” documents released last night in response to our ongoing litigation provide more instances of partisanship in the state’s ballot review. americanoversight.org/new-arizona-au…
In a July text message, a different person also identified as audit personnel forwarded a statement from Trump, who praised the state legislators who had called for the election to be decertified. documentcloud.org/documents/2107…
New Arizona ‘audit’ documents released last night in response to our ongoing litigation include emails and texts of top officials running partisan ballot review, and they provide yet more evidence of its anti-democratic origins. americanoversight.org/new-arizona-au…
The records reveal a U.S. Election Assistance Commission member’s early support for the “audit.” On Jan. 28, 2021, Arizona Sen. Warren Peterson told Senate President Karen Fann that Christy McCormick, an EAC member, was willing to be mentioned in a press release.
The EAC is the federal agency tasked with helping states administer secure elections.
“So won’t she [McCormick] be in deep dodo [sic] for saying this public[ly]?” Fann asked. “Nope, it’s a fact,” Petersen replied.
The federal government is responsible for enforcing immigration policy. Nonetheless, Gov. Abbott promised to “start arresting everybody” this summer and sent members of the Texas National Guard and Dept. of Public Safety to the border.
The Texas Department of Public Safety estimated that the weekly fuel costs, travel, and overtime for Operation Lone Star costs more than $2.3 million, according to records we obtained. americanoversight.org/document/texas…
The sham "audit" in Arizona was a partisan exercise aimed at spreading false claims of voter fraud to justify new restrictions on voting. But the “audit” isn’t the only example of this strategy. Here’s other instances we’ve helped expose using public records requests. #FoiaFriday
1. PILF in Florida: The Public Interest Legal Foundation claimed that ballots cast by dead voters in Palm Beach County was evidence of widespread voter fraud. Records we obtained, reported on by @reveal, show that PILF’s research crumbles under scrutiny.
In 2019, PILF claimed that “more than 100 deceased registrants actually cast ballots in recent elections in Palm Beach County after their dates of death.” We obtained the list of these 100 names.