AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is getting a lot of attention for his offer of up to a million dollars for voter fraud tips – and it’s not all good.
There’s been no proof of widespread voter fraud and experts say it’s rare. So far, almost all of President Trump’s legal challenges have been tossed out for lack of evidence.
Now, Patrick is hoping he can hand out money to encourage tipsters to come forward to back up Trump's baseless claims.
Even other politicians are poking fun at Patrick, including Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
"Hey, Governor Patrick- it's your counterpart in Pennsylvania. I'd like to collect your handsome reward for reporting voter fraud. I got a dude in Forty Fort, PA who tried to have his dead mom vote for Trump. I'd like mine in Sheetz gift cards pls. ps. The Cowboys blow."
That "dude in Forty Fort, PA” Fetterman refers to is a registered Republican arrested for allegedly trying to register his dead mother. She died five years ago.
At last check, Fetterman’s tweet had nearly 20,000 retweets and 68,000 likes, and prompted a Texan to ask if we could trade Patrick for Fetterman.
Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins also took a shot, accusing Patrick of trying to bribe tipsters.
Even Mike Pence weighed in. Not the real Mike Pence, mind you, the “professional mannequin” version.
"Why is Dan Patrick, the GOP Lt. Gov. of Texas offering a $1 million reward for evidence of voter fraud, if it's apparently so rampant and there's plenty of evidence?" he tweeted.
Other Twitter users don’t think it's funny, calling Patrick’s offer “disgusting,” “demeaning” and “desperate,” while several question the legality.
"Isn't this a crime to reward someone to commit a crime?!?" Sportsguy114 asked.
Jim Clancy, former chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission, told CBS News that handing out reward money may be improper if it's being used to help prove Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
"You could argue that this is an in-kind contribution to the Donald Trump campaign. That's his problem," Clancy said.
On Tuesday, President-elect Biden called Mr. Trump's refusal to concede "an embarrassment," and went on to say: "How can I say this tactfully — I think it will not help the president's legacy."
But Patrick and other Republicans aren’t giving up – at least, not publicly.
And Patrick is putting his money (or, possibly, his campaign donors’ money) where his mouth is. He's not saying where the $1M would come from.