Bogus GOP Arizona audit confirms the obvious: Biden won
The end result of the partisan probe in Arizona may disappoint Trump, though local officials said it also contained many faulty conclusions that could fulfill its ultimate aim — sowing distrust in the US election system and giving the ex-President material to cherry pick to raise new doubts among his supporters about the result.
The former President’s ability to force elements of his Republican Party to reject democratic values was earlier in evidence yet again.
Hours after Trump published a public letter to Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott demanding an election audit, the office of Texas’ secretary of state announced Thursday that the process had already begun in the two largest Democratic-leaning counties and the two biggest Republican counties, Dallas, Harris, Tarrant and Collin. Trump wrote in his letter that “Texans know voting fraud occurred in some of their counties. Let’s get to the bottom of the 2020 presidential election scam!”
In the case of Texas, the audit appears to be another sign of how Trump is able to force state officials — especially those, like Abbott, who may be hoping to mount future presidential runs and need to stay in good standing with the ex-President’s base — to carry out his undemocratic will. The process will also raise questions about whether a partisan state administration can be trusted to report fairly on how the election was conducted in Democratic counties.
By persuading the Texas authorities to look into the election, Trump gets the veneer of authority for his false claims. And it creates yet another precedent of interference in vote counting and election certification, which was previously seen as walled off from politicization, that threatens to taint elections in 2022, 2024 and for years to come.
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