COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is staying neutral on a request from the Lexington County Republican Party for a forensic audit of the county’s November 2020 election results.
Earlier this week, the county party passed a resolution calling for a complete and “exhaustive” forensic audit of the results in the reliably Republican county, which overwhelming voted for former President Donald Trump.
McMaster didn’t support the idea or condemn it while speaking to reporters Thursday, but said it’s the group’s prerogative to ask for an audit.
“Well that’s up to them. We want to have safe secure elections all the time, and if there’s a group that thinks they need an audit, then by golly they ought to have one,” said McMaster, who led the state Republican Party from 1993 to 2002. “But we want people to vote. We want them to know the election is going to count in the right way.”
The resolution’s supporters said Trump won the state by a wider margin than what was reported by elections officials. However, other party officials said the results were accurate and an audit won’t change any results in the state.
In November, Trump won Lexington County with about 64% of the vote to President Joe Biden’s roughly 34%.
Republicans also increased their majority in the Legislature, flipping five seats — two in the House and three in the Senate.
As of Thursday, neither Republican State House leaders nor the South Carolina Republican Party has called for an audit.
Calls to audit election results have surged across the country as Trump and his allies continue to make unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud, particularly in key battleground states, including in Arizona and Georgia, where Trump lost.
———
