Houston Chronicle: Gov. Abbott uses emergency power to fund $4 million audit of 2020 Texas election results

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican leaders of the Legislature are shifting $4 million from the state’s prison system to fund audits of election results as former President Donald Trump has pressured them to do.

On Thursday, Abbott requested emergency funding from the Legislature, saying the secretary of state doesn’t have the funding it needs to conduct election audits needed to assure the public they can trust results. Abbott said the funding will create a new Election Audits Division within the Secretary of State’s Office.

Republican leaders of the House and Senate agreed to the request Friday, calling the lack of funding for the audits division an emergency. They moved the $4 million on Friday morning, and Abbott signed off on it.

Though Trump won Texas by almost 6 percentage points, he has hinted that he believes he really won by more despite assurances from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office of a “smooth and secure” election in 2020. …

“How much taxpayer money is it going to take, to convince former President Trump that he lost the 2020 election?” said Stephanie Gómez, associate director of the Common Cause Texas advocacy group. “Wisconsin taxpayers are spending almost $700,000. Arizona taxpayers are on the hook for millions. Now, using emergency powers, Governor Abbott has got Texas taxpayers on the hook for $4 million more.”