Federal Law in Question: Trump and RNC Take Nevada to Court Over Mail Ballots

Federal Law in Question Trump and RNC Take Nevada to Court Over Mail Ballots

The Nevada Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, and the campaign of former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against the Silver State on Friday regarding the acceptance of mail-in ballots four days following Election Day.

In an effort to maintain election integrity leading up to and during President Joe Biden’s reelection on November 5, the RNC and the Trump campaign have taken this action.

“Nevada’s ballot receipt deadline clearly violates federal law and undermines election integrity in the state,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley stated. “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.”

Francisco Aguilar, the secretary of state of Nevada, Jan Galassini, the clerk of Washoe County, Cari-Ann Burgess, the registrar of Clark County, Lorena Portillo, and the clerk of Clark County, Lynn Marie Goya, are the defendants in this case.

Although postal ballots must be mailed and postmarked by Election Day, Nevada law allows for a four-day grace period after that.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) claims that accepting mail-in ballots beyond Election Day “undermines the integrity” of the process and that continuing the election over November 5th is against federal law.

“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,” as per the suit.

In 2021, the Silver State implemented an all-mail voting system, partly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Republicans in the state opposed the proposal.

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“Nevada runs some of the most secure, transparent, and accessible elections in the country,” Aguilar stated. “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,” he further added.

Nevada was lost by Trump to Biden in the 2020 election and to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. In their rematch for the presidency in November, a victory by Trump in the Silver State would help him overcome Biden.

The RNC is currently involved in at least 83 fair election cases across 25 states. The RNC said last month that 100,000 volunteers would be joining them to watch polls.

Reference

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