Republican legislators in states won by Donald Trump are now asking for Arizona-style audits.
Arizona's GOP-led state Senate has been examining ballots cast in Maricopa County in hopes of uncovering evidence to show Trump actually won there, but Republicans in states the former president did win are focusing on fraud claims to raise money and draw attention to themselves, reported The Daily Beast.
"This is about two things, and these are symbiotic," said former Republican National Committee communications director Doug Heye. "The continued fealty for all things Trump, and placating the base or the portion of the base that still can't accept a clear loss."
For example, Trump won Utah by more than 20 percent, but GOP state Rep. Steve Christiansen wants an audit after traveling to Arizona to witness the ongoing investigation happening there, although he couldn't really explain why it's necessary.
"I wanted to make sure I got to Arizona while the audit was being conducted," Christiansen told The Daily Beast. "For me, it's all about making sure we have free and fair elections."
Republicans in North Carolina, which Trump won by one percentage point, are now asking for an inspection of the voting machines used in November to see whether they could have been subverted somehow, and to investigate claims by the right-wing hoax blog Gateway Pundit about "strange food trucks at polling places."
"[I'll ask] the hard question to these guys about what is going on with the machines," state Rep. Keith Kidwell promised in a Facebook post.
