Idaho GOP official says he is sending Mike Lindell bill for election audit

An Idaho GOP official said Thursday he is sending MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell a bill for the state’s election audit after the Trump ally alleged there was widespread fraud.

Idaho Chief Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck told the Idaho Statesman that the bill could be around $6,500 but that it will be another two weeks until the total amount is determined.

“Why not try and get Lindell to reimburse the state for having to refute his false claim?” Houck told the newspaper, adding that his office is “looking into” its options if Lindell refuses to pay the bill.

Houck first announced the move in a CNN interview on Thursday.

The remarks come a week after Houck released a statement discrediting Lindell’s election fraud claims.

Lindell alleged in a document called “The Big Lie” said that all 44 counties in the state electronically switched votes from former President Trump to President Biden.

“Once we had the document in hand, we immediately believed there was something amiss,” said Houck. “This document alleged electronic manipulation in all 44 counties. At least 7 Idaho counties have no electronic steps in their vote counting processes.”

Butte, Camas and Bonner County were audited after Lindell’s false claim received attention. All audits showed the accuracy of the election, with the secretary of state’s office saying Saturday that there was a 0.1 percent margin of error across the counties, according to the Idaho Statesman.

“This effort was never about billing Mike Lindell,” Houck said in a statement to The Hill on Friday. “This effort was about refuting an allegation of 44 county fraud, and defending the integrity of Idaho’s election system, our 44 elected clerks, and the collective team of individuals that make our voting processes work.”

“Idaho’s elections are conducted in a free, fair, and accurate manner. We continue to stand on that fact, and ask anyone that has evidence to the contrary to please put it in our hands,” Houck added.

The Hill has reached out to Lindell for comment.

Trump won Idaho, a solidly Republican state, in the 2020 presidential election with 63.8 percent of the vote. Idaho has four electoral votes.

Lindell has not acknowledged that Biden won the presidential election, instead continuing to falsely claim there was fraud in multiple states that changed the results of the election. 

An Alabama official recently dismissed a claim by Lindell that 100,000 votes were switched from Trump to Biden in that state.

Updated at 5:45 p.m.