Trump campaign, Republicans sue over Nevada’s mail-in ballot deadline

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and national and state Republicans filed a lawsuit Friday against the Nevada Secretary of State and several county clerks, claiming the state’s mail-in ballot deadline is unconstitutional.

Nevada state law requires all mail-in ballots to be mailed and postmarked by Election Day. There is then a four-day period after Election Day when county clerks can accept the postmarked ballots and process them. The lawsuit targets that grace period, claiming the law “extends Nevada’s federal election past the Election Day established by Congress.”

Nevada is one of several states with universal mail balloting. Voters can choose to vote in person or by mail early or in person on Election Day. Registered voters can also opt out of receiving a mail-in ballot if they wish.

Colorado, which is a universal mail-in ballot state, requires all ballots to be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. In contrast, Utah, also a universal mail-in ballot state, requires ballots be postmarked one day before Election Day and received before the county canvass, several days later, according to vote.org. A total of 23 states require a ballot be received by Election Day.

“The result of Nevada’s violation of federal law is that timely, valid ballots are diluted by untimely, invalid ballots, which violates the rights of candidates, campaigns, and voters under federal law,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit claims clerks will count ballots that are not yet postmarked on Election Day, though that itself would violate Nevada law. There is no evidence in the lawsuit for the claim. The lawsuit also claims Democrats tend to mail their mail-in ballots later due to “get-out-the-vote drives.”

“Counting mail ballots received after Election Day doesn’t just dilute the valid ballots — it specifically and disproportionately harms Republican candidates and voters,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit asks a judge to declare preliminary or permanent injunctions limiting the ballot acceptance to Election Day for the November election. Election Day 2024 will happen on Nov. 5. All ballots must be received by Nov. 9.

“Nevada’s ballot receipt deadline clearly violates federal law and undermines election integrity in the state,” Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley said in a statement. “Ballots received days after Election Day should not be counted — the RNC and our partners are suing to secure an honest election, support Nevada voters, and oppose unlawful schemes.”

“Donald Trump and Republicans’ baseless lawsuit is yet another tactic to undermine democracy and disenfranchise thousands of Nevada voters by limiting when ballots can be accepted — even when postmarked by Election Day,” Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director Hilary Barrett said in a statement.

“Nevada runs some of the most secure, transparent, and accessible elections in the country,” Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said. “The key for that accessibility is allowing working Nevadans to vote using the method that works best for them, including voting by mail. Our office will not comment on ongoing litigation, but I hope the RNC is putting as much time and energy into educating voters on how to participate in elections as they put into suing the state of Nevada.”

Measures the Nevada Legislature put in place in 2021, alongside the mail-in voting law, scrubbed voter rolls of non-eligible and deceased voters. Just over half of Nevada’s ballots cast in the 2022 general were mail ballots, according to a thorough study released by the federal government.

Though claiming widespread evidence in the 2020 election, Republicans never provided any evidence of wrongdoing in Nevada. Then-Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, condemned the claims, saying the election was fair and secure.

One case of voter fraud involved a man’s case the Republican Party first highlighted, claiming his ballot was stolen. Kirk Hartle later pleaded guilty to using his deceased wife ballot to vote twice.

The Nevada GOP repeatedly denied requests from 8 News Now to review their evidence throughout the fall of 2020. At a news conference on Nov. 5, 2020, where surrogates from the Trump campaign announced a federal lawsuit, speakers told reporters to find the evidence for themselves. That lawsuit was later dropped. During the sole hearing in that case, a lawyer provided no evidence of fraud and did not verbally bring up any evidence to the federal judge.

No widespread voter fraud was ever discovered in Nevada. The state supreme court denied the Trump campaign’s request to overturn the state’s election results and proclaim the then-president the winner. Biden won Nevada by more than 33,000 votes, a result the court certified that November. Several Republicans, including Cegavske and then-Attorney General William Barr, said there was no evidence of any widespread fraud.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.