November 2, 2020
Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada
Attorney General Aaron D. Ford issued the following statement after First Judicial
District Court Judge James Wilson denied President Trump and the Nevada
Republican Party’s request to temporarily halt the counting of election ballots
in Clark County. The Office of the Nevada Attorney General argued on behalf of
Nevada’s Secretary of State in this suit:
“The president’s deliberate attempts to
undermine Nevada’s elections have failed yet again,” said AG Ford. “He has made every attempt to control the outcome of
this election without any regard for the health and safety of residents or
Nevada’s state laws designed to protect the sanctity of the ballot. Today’s
ruling makes clear that there is a proper procedure to observe an election that
even the president must follow, and it’s most certainly a victory for the
constitutional rights of all Nevadans.”
“I would also like to applaud Secretary of
State Cegavske’s commitment to ensuring that every Nevadan has the
opportunity to vote in the upcoming election in a way that does not
compromise the safety or efficiency of our election process. Her office has
taken many steps to secure the safety of our elections and to work with local,
state and federal law enforcement partners. Nevada has a history of running
secure, fair elections and this year will be no different.”
On October 23rd, President
Trump and Nevada’s Republican Party filed a lawsuit against Nevada’s
Secretary of State and the Clark County Registrar asserting that Clark County
violated state election law. The request for a temporary restraining order was
denied the same day by Judge Wilson. Today’s ruling affirmed and expanded upon
the Judge’s decision to deny the requested temporary restraining order.
In his decision on the demand for mandamus relief, Judge Wilson
made several references to the fact that Plaintiffs did not present the court
with enough evidence in this case to demonstrate that any improper actions on
behalf of the Clark County Registrar, Joe Gloria, or Secretary of State Barbara
Cegavske. Specifically, he found that:
- "No evidence was presented that any party or witness wanted
to challenge a vote or voter, or had his or her vote challenged" (pg. 5,
lines 19-20)
- "No evidence was presented that there was an error in
matching a ballot signature..." (pg. 5, line 21)
- "No evidence was presented that any election staff were biased
or prejudiced for or against any party or candidate" (pg. 5 lines 24-25)
- "Clark County uses an electronic ballot sorting system,
Agilis." ... "No evidence was presented of any Agilis errors or
inaccuracies. No evidence was presented that there is any indication of any
error in Clark County's Agilis signature match rate." (pg. 3, line 25; pg.
4, lines 14-16)
Earlier this year and in light of the global
pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance in advance of
election day encouraging mail-in voting methods to minimize direct contact between
voters and election workers and to reduce crowding at polling stations. In a
Special Legislative Session, Assembly Bill 4
(AB4) was passed in order to send mail-in ballots to every active registered
voter in Nevada and create options for Nevadans to vote in a manner consistent
with public health concerns. AB4 also advanced the start date for counting
mail-in ballots prior to Election Day and called for a minimum number of in-person
early voting and Election Day polling locations in each of Nevada’s 17 counties.
Nevada has existing state laws, regulations and county rules to provide for poll
watching and monitoring of election procedures to ensure the public has a
meaningful opportunity to observe elections.
The Court’s decision is attached.
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