Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick offers $1 million reward to anyone who reports voter fraud that backs Trump's claims
President Donald Trump and his closest aides have been screaming against voter fraud in the just concluded presidential election in which Democratic contender Joe Biden has won but they have not succeeded in producing evidence to back their claims.
However, Trump loyalists are in no mood to give up and on Tuesday, November 10, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said that he is offering up to $1 million to “incentivize, encourage and reward” people if they report voter fraud in the state, the Texas Tribune has reported.
The 70-year-old Patrick said anyone who produces information leading to a conviction will be rewarded at least $25,000. The report cited Sherry Sylvester, spokesperson of the Patrick campaign, saying the money will come from the latter’s campaign fund.
Patrick, a staunch supporter of Trump who was picked as the president’s Texas state chairman before the 2016 presidential election, has backed the latter’s allegation that the 2020 election was not a transparent affair. In Texas, however, the Republicans beat the Democrats in all major elections, including the presidency and the Congress as well as the state elections.
Delay raises more questions, says Patrick
“I support President Trump’s efforts to identify voter fraud in the presidential election and his commitment to making sure that every legal vote is counted and every illegal vote is disqualified,” the lieutenant governor, who is serving since 2015, said in a statement.
“The delays in counting mail-in ballots in other states raises more questions about voter fraud and potential mistakes.” While Patrick did not provide any proof of mass voter fraud, his press release talked about three recent arrests, including that of a social worker in the Lone Star State on charges of election fraud.
Controversy over mail-in ballots has been heating up in the run-up to the election as President Trump and his allies objected to it saying it would lead to widespread electoral malpractice. The arrangement was promoted this year owing to the coronavirus pandemic that has affected more than 10 million people in the US and killing over 239,000.
Last month, Patrick claimed in a radio interview on ‘The Mark Davis Show’ that the Republicans could lose this year’s presidential election only if the Democrats cheated. “The Democrats have just decided this election, Mark, we don't have to pay attention to any laws. We're gonna use Covid as an excuse to steal the election, and that's what they're trying to do everywhere. If the president loses Pennsylvania or North Carolina, Mark, or Florida, they'll lose it because they stole it,” he said.
Dan Patrick in Dems' sights in 2022
The Democrats were quick to react to Patrick’s initiative. Abhi Rahman, a spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party, was quoted as saying by the Tribune: “These people want to delegitimize votes in order to appeal to their Trumpian base. We know that there’s a lot of work to do here in Texas and Dan Patrick is in our sights in 2022.”
Ted Cruz, another prominent politician from Texas who contested against Trump in the presidential primaries four years ago, also defended the president saying every legal vote should be counted while those cast illegally should not be. The senator also failed to produce solid evidence to back his claim.
The Trump campaign has come up with legal challenges in key states, including Georgia and Wisconsin, in an attempt to close the gap between Biden and the incumbent but it has not been able to make any breakthrough.