Trump demands audit of 2020 votes in Texas – which he won

Comes after Texas passed a voter bill to restrict access

Former President Donald Trump sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott asking for an audit of the 2020 election despite the fact that Mr Trump actually won the state.

Mr Trump noted that legislation that would have allowed for audits of counties was not signed into law.

“Instead, the legislature passed a watered-down amendment that doesn’t even apply to the 2020 Presidential Election,” the former president said in the letter to the governor. “This short amendment doesn't answer the questions Texans have about the last election. Texans demand a real audit to completely address their concerns.”

Specifically, Mr Trump wanted the legislature to pass a bill that would have allowed for county chairpeople and candidates to launch audits not unlike the one happening in Arizona. Mr Trump called on the bill to be passed during the third special session of the legislature.

“Time is running out. Paper ballots in your state are only kept for 22 months after the election,” he wrote. “Your citizens don’t trust the election system, and they want your leadership on this issue, which is the number one thing they care about. It is their most important issue – one that will affect 2022 and 2024.”

Mr Trump’s call for the audit comes not only despite the fact he won the state but the fact that made substantial gains with Latino voters in areas like the Rio Grande Valley along the US-Mexico border and Democrats did not pick up a single House seat despite heavily investing in Texas.

Nor did his letter address the fact that his voters do not trust the results of the election specifically because Mr Trump has spent the last year discrediting the election results since he lost.

Mr Abbott signed legislation last month to significantly curb access to the ballot. The law bans 24-hour and drive-through voting, which was popular in Democratic Harris County. It also criminalises election workers who make unintended errors and bans local jurisdictions from enacting their own policies to expand ballot access.

The Texas governor, who is a Republican, has been criticised by conservatives in his state to the extent he has two primary challengers, including former state party chairman Allen West. A poll from the University of Texas-Tyler and The Dallas Morning News found that 44 per cent of Texas either disapprove or strongly disapprove of Mr Abbott’s performance.

At the same time, Democrats have yet to have a prominent candidate announce a challenge to Mr Abbott. Former Texas Rep Beto O’Rourke, who ran against Sen Ted Cruz in 2018, is rumored to be running but he has not announced yet. Similarly, the same poll showed Mr O’Rourke down five points at 37 percent against Mr Abbott at 42 percent in a hypothetical matchup.

The former Texas congressman also doesn’t get high marks personally, as only 34 percent of Texas have an either a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of him while 42 percent have either a somewhat unfavorable or very view of him .

Conversely, actor Matthew McConaughey beats Mr Abbott by nine points.