Politics & Government
Harris County Passes Resolution Condemning Election Audit
Commissioners passed the resolution 3-2 after Gov. Greg Abbott announced the audit Thursday following a public letter from Donald Trump.
HOUSTON, TX — The Harris County Commissioners Court passed a resolution Tuesday condemning the audit of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election in Harris County along with three others announced by Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo argued in support of the resolution, which passed 3-2 along party lines. The audit, 11 months after the election, undermines confidence in the election process because it feeds into unfounded conspiracy theories, Hidalgo argued.
Commissioners Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle were the lone dissenters to the resolution, believing that opposition to the audit was political in nature.
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"An audit every now and then doesn't hurt," Ramsey said. "I think this would be in the category of best practices."
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Cagle agreed, arguing that the audit should bolster confidence in Harris County elections.
"The tone of the resolution was very political," Cagle said. "The truth does not mind being questioned. I do not think that merely because something is being audited that it is a bad thing."
The audit targets Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties. President Joe Biden edged former President Donald Trump in Harris, Dallas and Tarrant counties in the 2020 election, though Trump won the state's 38 electoral votes with 52.1 percent of the vote.
Shortly before the audit was announced, Trump called on Abbott to hold a forensic audit of the election in a public letter.
"We had incredibly successful elections in Harris County in 2020," Hidalgo said in an appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show on Friday. "We had innovations that led to record turnout from both parties, ... and since then, no evidence has come out that would in any way cause the need for this kind of audit.
"Texas is being run from Mar-a-Lago, ... and frankly, it's dangerous and extremely concerning."
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