Idaho plans to bill MyPillow's Mike Lindell for 2020 election audits conducted to 'refute his false claim'

Idaho Chief Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck went on CNN Thursday to explain how Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) can effectively sieze power, albeit very briefly, while Gov. Brad Little (R) is out of state on official business. But he made news by disclosing that Idaho plans to bill MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for the cost of the state's audit of the 2020 election in three counties.
The bill is will probably be around $6,500, Houck said, conceding it's unlikely Lindell will actually pay up without legal action. Still, "why not try and get Lindell to reimburse the state for having to refute his false claim?" he told the Idaho Statesman on Thursday.
Idaho's national election results weren't particularly close — former President Donald Trump won the state with 63.8 percent of the vote — but Lindell's claims that the ballots were electronically flipped from Trump to President Biden in all 44 Idaho counties got so much exposure, state officials decided to disprove his baseless assertions by checking the vote tallies in three small counties that still vote on paper — the "low-hanging fruit," as Houck put it. The final audit was completed last Saturday, and the result was a 0.1 percent margin of error across all three counties.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Our premise was, if we could get in and out of two of those counties in a day, and in a day disprove the theory of what was being alleged there, that would be a good use of time," Houck told the Statesman. "While our team is always looking for possible vulnerabilities, this allegation was patently without merit from the first look," he said in a statement Wednesday. "It takes hard work to build confidence in a state's elections system, and careless accusations like this can cause tremendous harm. Doing nothing and saying nothing would have been like conceding its truth."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
What is Linda Yaccarino's legacy? And what's next for X?
Today's Big Question An 'uncertain future' in the age of TikTok
-
The Pam Bondi and Dan Bongino schism threatens Trump's DOJ
In the Spotlight Two MAGA partisans find themselves on either end of a growing scandal over Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to White House officials
-
8 ways Trump's bill will change your taxes
The Explainer The 'big beautiful bill' was recently signed into law. Here's what it might mean for your wallet.
-
The Pam Bondi and Dan Bongino schism threatens Trump's DOJ
In the Spotlight Two MAGA partisans find themselves on either end of a growing scandal over Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to White House officials
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump uses tariffs to upend Brazil's domestic politics
IN THE SPOTLIGHT By slapping a 50% tariff on Brazil for its criminal investigation into Bolsonaro, the Trump administration is brazenly putting its fingers on the scales of a key foreign election
-
'Trump's authoritarian manipulation of language'
Instant Opinion Vienna has become a 'convenient target for populists' | Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Could Trump really 'take over' American cities?
Today's Big Question Trump has proposed a federal takeover of New York City and Washington, D.C.
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro