Trump alleges Nevada’s mostly mail primary election is ‘illegal,’ says state could lose funding
President Donald Trump threatened in a tweet Wednesday morning to withhold federal funding from Nevada should it proceed with its mostly mail primary election, alleging that the state’s decision to do so is “illegal,” though he didn’t offer any specifics about why he believes that is the case.
Trump said in the tweet, which he also directed at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and acting budget director Russ Vought, that the mostly-mail election would result in voter fraud and is tantamount to an effort by the state to “cheat in elections.” The state’s Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske announced in March that next month’s primary election would be held almost entirely by mail, with limited opportunities for in-person voting, because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“State of Nevada ‘thinks’ that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They can’t! If they do, ‘I think’ I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections. @RussVought45 @USTreasury,” Trump tweeted.
The plan for a mostly mail election has been subject to several legal challenges from both sides of the political spectrum, including one from Texas-based True the Vote, a conservative voting monitoring group. A federal judge blocked the group’s first lawsuit on the grounds that it lacked standing.
It filed an amended complaint a week ago challenging an agreement between Clark County election officials and national Democratic groups that makes some concessions, including sending ballots to both inactive and active registered voters. In the rest of the state, ballots will be mailed only to “active” registered voters who have verifiable addresses, although both categories are eligible to vote.
A hearing on that is scheduled for Friday.
Republican National Committee chief counsel Justin Riemer said on a press call on Monday that the party plans to ask the Nevada attorney general’s office to investigate “potential issues” associated with mailing absentee ballots to inactive voters.
A group of Democratic-affiliated organizations, including the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the progressive political nonprofit Priorities USA, had also initially sued against the all-mail primary, though they dropped their legal challenge after Clark County election officials agreed to expand in-person voting sites.
Officials from the Nevada secretary of state’s office and Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak’s office did not immediately respond to early morning messages seeking comment.
Trump has also threatened to withhold federal funding from Michigan over its plans to send mail-in voting applications to all voters in the state.
For information on why Nevada has opted for a mostly-mail election and what safeguards election officials are implementing to prevent voter fraud, read this Q&A with Wayne Thorley, deputy secretary of state for elections.
This story was used with permission of The Nevada Independent. Go here for updates to this and other stories.
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