The Texas secretary of state鈥檚 office announced late Thursday that it has begun a 鈥渇ull forensic audit鈥� of the 2020 general election in four Texas counties: Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant. But the statement from that agency did not explain what prompted the move.
There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Texas in 2020.
Sam Taylor, a spokesperson for the office, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. No elections officials in the four counties immediately responded for comment.
The announcement came hours after Republican former President Donald Trump to this year鈥檚 third special session.
It was unclear if that request was related to the announcement from the secretary of state鈥檚 office. But Taylor鈥檚 press release said the agency has 鈥渁lready begun the process in Texas鈥� two largest Democrat counties and two largest Republican counties鈥擠allas, Harris, Tarrant, and Collin.鈥� While Tarrant has long been a Republican stronghold, Democratic President Joe Biden narrowly beat Trump there, .
Former Secretary of State Ruth Ruggero Hughs, who oversaw the 2020 elections, . A deputy for Hughs called the 2020 election 鈥渟mooth and secure鈥� earlier this year.
Trump has pushed baseless claims of massive voter fraud for months since he lost the election last year 鈥� as he did after winning in 2016 鈥� and has mounted numerous legal challenges to the certification of the 2020 election鈥檚 results.
Many Texas Republicans have echoed or supported Trump鈥檚 efforts to cast doubts on the election.