Absentee Ballot Count Leads to Biden Topping Trump in Tarrant County

FORT WORTH, TX – OCTOBER 30: People wait in line to vote at Tarrant County Elections Center on the last day of early voting on October 29, 2020 in Fort Worth, Texas.(Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)

Fort Worth (WBAP/KLIF) – The ongoing absentee ballot count in Tarrant county has put Joe Biden on top by a few hundred votes.

As ballots are still being counted in Texas, Joe Biden has pulled ahead of President Trump as a result of votes tallied from the Fort Worth area.  

The numbers won’t change the outcome of the election in Texas, but stats from Tarrant County Elections Thursday afternoon showed the Democrats with 403-thousand-698 votes, compared to 403-thousand-271 for Trump.

In 2018, Senate candidate Beto O’rourke beat Ted Cruz in Tarrant County.

Meantime, as millions of mail-in ballots are being tabulated elsewhere, increasingly giving the edge to Joe Biden, President Trump has accused Democrats of trying to “steal the election.

The Pennsylvania mail-in ballot count has been live-streamed; additionally the process is observed by members of both political campaigns.

Some top Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham have defended Trump’s assertions, other lawmakers have remained silent and some others have expressed concern:

Graham told Fox’s Hannity he questions the integrity state election officials in Democrat led states, overseeing vote counting.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois tweeted, “This is getting insane,” and said, “if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court.”

Michigan Republican Rep. Paul Mitchell, who is also retiring at the end of this term, tweeted, “If anyone has proof of wrongdoing, it should be presented and resolved. Anything less harms the integrity of our elections and is dangerous for our democracy.”

GOP Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who is retiring at the end of his current term, suggested in a tweet that the comments are “dangerous.”
“A sitting president undermining our political process & questioning the legality of the voices of countless Americans without evidence is not only dangerous & wrong, it undermines the very foundation this nation was built upon.”

Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a member of Senate GOP leadership, said in a statement, “As vote totals continue to update, Americans deserve confidence in a fair and transparent election. The President is right to ensure all legally-cast votes be observed and counted.”

Other Republican leaders have so far been silent in the wake of Trump’s White House address:

Senate Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, as well as Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Todd Young of Indiana — all members of Senate GOP leadership — did not respond to requests for comment.

House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of California told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham  “Every American should stand up. Whatever they see … tell us if they see something that’s incorrect out there.”  He later added, “Do not be silent about this. We cannot allow this to happen before our very eyes.”

Governor Abbott tweeted from his personal Twitter account: “Texas swiftly processed more than 11 million votes & quickly announced winners across 2 time zones.
To ensure transparency we allow poll watchers from each party to participate in the voting & tally processes. What is happening in some states undermines trust in elections.”  

In another development in Texas, over 800 mail ballots were found in Texas mail processing facilities and delivered to county election officials between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the U.S. Postal Service. According to the document submitted by USPS on Wednesday, 815 ballots were found across the state between the two sweeps and transported to county election facilities. Only two ballots in the Wichita Falls area were marked for overnight transport “due to travel time.” USPS did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on whether those two ballots had arrived in time to be counted.