Abbott didn’t raise any accusations of malfeasance in the election but said election winners “are certified by designated governmental bodies, not by media outlets.”
In his first comments on the presidential election since election night, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott avoided acknowledging former Vice President Joe Biden’s victory and said the process of vote counting and recounts should play out.
“Democracy depends upon fair and open elections. We all agree that every legal vote counts and that illegal votes do not. There are processes in place in each state to determine if any vote is legal, and we must respect those processes to ensure the integrity of our elections,” Abbott said in a written statement Monday evening.
Abbott’s statement comes days after major news outlets called Biden president-elect on Saturday as results indicated that he would win the swing state of Pennsylvania and secure enough electoral votes to ascend to the presidency.
Trump has not conceded, claiming the election was stolen and making unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. The sitting president’s campaign has filed legal challenges to contest the election results in battleground states. Judges in two of those cases — in Michigan and Georgia — tossed out the lawsuits because the campaign failed to provide evidence that laws were broken. Trump’s campaign has indicated that it will call for recounts in Michigan and Wisconsin, and recounts are also possible in Georgia and Pennsylvania. Still, experts say his odds of winning are practically impossible.
Photo: Gov. Greg Abbott’s statement comes days after major news outlets called Joe Biden president-elect on Saturday as results indicated that he would win the swing state of Pennsylvania and secure enough electoral votes to ascend to the presidency. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
BY STACY FERNÁNDEZ with Texas Tribune.