A Texas House representative announced Monday he’s introducing a bill for a forensic audit of the most populous counties’ election results.
According to the text of House Bill 241, introduced by Republican state Rep. Steve Toth, forensic reviews of counties with more than 415,000 population should be carried out before Nov. 1, 2021, and they should be completed before Feb. 1, 2022.
“Not later than March 1, 2022,” the bill’s text states, “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.”
The counties that should be audited, according to the bill, include Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant, Collin, Travis, Denton, Hidalgo, Fort Bend, El Paso, Williamson, Montgomery, and Cameron.
It’s not clear whether the Republican-led Texas Legislature has the appetite for the sweeping audit, which would be one of the largest election reviews in U.S. history. The Epoch Times has contacted House Speaker Dade Phelan’s office and Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Donna Campbell for comment.
A news release posted by Toth on Monday cited recent comments from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who said last month that about 500 election fraud cases are being prosecuted by his office—although scant details have been provided to date. During a speech at CPAC this month, Paxton said he’s investigating 400 more fraud cases.
His release also included a statement of support from Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough, who said Toth’s “proposed bill is timely and necessary” in potentially “exposing any instances of fraud during the 2020 election and reassuring Texas voters.”