BEAUMONT, Texas — Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is offering up to $1 million for tips about voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Patrick says anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and final conviction of voter fraud will be paid a minimum of $25,000.
“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," Patrick said in a news release on his website. "President Trump’s pursuit of voter fraud is not only essential to determine the outcome of this election, it is essential to maintain our democracy and restore faith in future elections.
Many Republicans, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, have supported the President in his legal fight over election integrity and claims that Democrats are trying to steal the election.
The President claims, without evidence and without proof, allegations of illegal vote counts and potential voter fraud in key battleground states.
"I believe President Trump still has a path to victory, and that path is to count every single legal vote that was cast, but also not to count any votes that were fraudulently cast or illegally cast, and we have a legal process to determine what's legal and what isn't," Cruz told FOX News.
Abbott didn't raise any accusations of malfeasance in the election, but said election winners are certified by governmental bodies and not the media.
The Trump campaign's legal team has filed a flurry of lawsuits, though all but one have been thrown out so far. That lawsuit allowed poll observers closer to where votes were being counted.
Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground win for President-Elect Joe Biden, has called claims of voter fraud disturbing.
"There’s simply no evidence anyone has shown me of any widespread corruption or fraud," Toomey told CBS News. “I voted for President Trump. I endorsed President Trump. I want the next president to be the person who legitimately wins the Electoral College, and I will accept whoever that is.”
Patrick says that the lack of transparency in how mail-in votes are being counted leads to a lack of transparency that has led many to believe the final count is not accurate.
“In Texas, we also know that it is possible to provide the results of mail-in ballots on Election Day. We counted 970,000 mail-in ballots last Tuesday – a 55% increase over 2018 – and added those results to the in-person voting total before midnight on Election Day," Patrick said.
However, Pennsylvania received more than 2.5 million mail-in and absentee ballots, according to election data provided by the state's secretary of state.
In Lumberton on Sunday, Texas Rep. Brian Babin eluded, without proof, to illegal vote counts in predominantly Democratic cities that included "thousands of votes for Joe Biden" and "zero votes" for President Trump.
"President Trump is fighting hard, and you need to keep fighting hard," Babin said. "This thing is going to continue until we are shown that it was a legitimate election and these questions about all these concerning issues anomalies are answered."
Biden is already projected to win 290 electoral votes, while Trump has won 214, according to projections from AP, FOX News, NBC News and ABC News. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win.
Biden has flipped a number of states from 2016 including Pennsylvania, Arizona Michigan and Wisconsin. He also leads in Georgia, which has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton.
Biden's victories were by slim margins in swing states, including 12,655 in Georgia, 14,733 in Arizona and 20,539 in Pennsylvania (according to still uncertified election returns).
It is unclear where voter fraud tips can be submitted to be eligible for Patrick's reward. Tips can be submitted to the FBI via their tip submission webpage.