May 20. 2020
Carson City, NV - Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford responded to President Trump's allegations that the State of Nevada is sending out illegal vote by mail ballots and committing voter fraud. In a Twitter statement this morning, President Trump threatened to hold up funds to the State of Nevada for "cheating in elections."
"As Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske recently stated, Nevada has many safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of an all-mail election," said AG Ford. "And our military, for example, has used it for over a century. Moreover, a federal judge just noted that a recent claim of voter fraud in Nevada "is without any factual basis. So, President Trump's early-morning threat to hold federal aid hostage because Nevada is using this time-honored and trusted method of voting to protect the health and safety of its residents is perplexing. The mail election for the upcoming primary is but one piece in the plan to keep Nevada families safe, and we will not allow these threats and accusations to undermine that plan. To the president, I say this: If you 'think' you can withhold funds from this State and carry through on your threat, we'll see you in court."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance in advance of election day encouraging mail-in voting methods to minimize direct contact with other people and reduce crowd size at polling stations. Last month, 19 new cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin appeared to be linked to individuals who either voted in-person or worked at a polling station.
On March 24, 2020, Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske announced plans to transition Nevada to an all-mail election for the June 9th primary election. This announcement was made in partnership with Nevada's 17 county election officials in the interest of residents' health and safety.
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