Gov. Abbott establishes Election Audit Division

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott authorized to move $4 million from the state budget allocated for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to establish an elections audit division at the Texas Secretary of State’s Office.

The new division will conduct county election audits across the state to follow new rules outlined in the election integrity bill signed into law over the summer. The controversial law, which caused state Democrats to flee the state in an attempt to block the legislation from being law, requires the secretary of state to select four counties at random after each November election and then audit all elections in those counties over the previous two years.

“Ensuring the integrity of our elections is critical to our democracy, and the Texas Secretary of State’s office deserves the resources and support needed to thoroughly complete this ongoing task,” Abbott said in a statement. “The people of Texas must have trust and confidence in the election process, as well as the outcomes of our elections, which is why the state of Texas will transfer funding needed so that the Texas Secretary of State can create a division dedicated entirely to this important issue.”

This news comes on the heels of the announcement the office is conducting forensic audits of the 2020 election in Dallas, Harris, Tarrant and Collin counties.

The funding that was transferred was initially earmarked in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget to go to the TDCJ’s Correctional Security Operations.

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