Editors note: This article has been updated to include a comment from John Sadler, Communications Director for the Office of the Attorney General. 

Shortly after announcing his 2026 for Nevada governor today, Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) engaged in another political move by refiling forgery charges in Carson City District Court (see below) against six Republicans who he alleges filed fraudulent elector documents in 2020. The defendants include: Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, Republican National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid, Clark County GOP Chairman Jesse Law, state party Vice Chair Jim Hindle, Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice.

In an announcement from his office on X, Ford reveals that the filing is “a preemptive measure to ensure that the statute of limitations on this charge does not lapse.”  The statute of limitations on forgery is four years and the expiration to file would be December 14, 2024.

“My office still believes that Clark County is an appropriate venue for this case and will continue to seek a ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court to return to the Eighth Judicial District Court,” the Ford said in his statement. “While we disagree with the finding of improper venue and will continue to seek to overturn it, we are preserving our legal rights in order to ensure that these fake electors do not escape justice…This is not going away.”

Attorneys for the Defendants provided the following statement in response: “Other than noting that the refiling of the dismissed charges looks like a political move by the Attorney General who announced today his plans to run for governor, and suggesting that he should heed the advice of Will Rogers (“If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging”), we will withhold further comment and address the issues in court.”

Last December, a Clark County grand jury indicted the defendants in the Eighth Judicial District Court and were charged with Offering a False Instrument for Filing, a category C felony, and Uttering a Forged Instrument, a category D felony, for offering a false instrument titled “Certificate of the Votes of the 2020 Electors from Nevada” to the President of the Senate; the Archivist of the United States; the Nevada Secretary of State; and the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. The Offering a False Instrument charge is not included in this latest lawsuit as the statute of limitations has expired.

In June, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus dismissed the case citing that the county was not the appropriate jurisdiction. “You have literally, in my opinion, a crime that has occurred in another jurisdiction,” Holthus said. “It’s so appropriately up north and so appropriately not here.”

Ford then appealed the case to the Nevada Supreme Court where it awaits a hearing. Should the state Supreme Court provide a ruling, the Carson City case would be dropped.

During the last legislative session, Ford pressed for specific legislation to “directly address” and “criminalize fake-elector schemes” referring to the six defendants’ actions as a “grave offense.”

In legislative testimony, Ford advocated for Senate Bill 133, sponsored by Democratic Senator Skip Daly, that proposed criminal penalties (4-10 years imprisonment) for anyone found guilt of participating in or “creating a false slate of presidential electors.”

Governor Joe Lombardo vetoed the measure, saying the penalty would be harsher than that for high-level fentanyl traffickers, domestic violence perpetrators and “even some of the most extreme and violent actors on January 6.”

“Because SB 133 does nothing to ensure the security of our elections and merely provides disproportionately harsh penalties for an, admittedly, terrible crime, I cannot support it,” Lombardo stated.

“There is no statute that directly addresses what SB 133 covered – fake electors. There is no statute that criminalizes attempting to pass yourself off as an elector when you are not one. Nor is there a statute that criminalizes fake-elector schemes. SB 133 would have directly criminalized these actions. That’s why I testified in support of it – to create a law that directly addressed the conduct in question. SB 133 passed, but it was unfortunately vetoed by the governor. So, we still don’t have a law that directly addresses fake electors,” Ford told reporters.

“I noted during my testimony for Senate Bill 133 that, “as long as I am Attorney General, I will never stop fighting against those seeking to undermine our elections. I will never stop fighting against those that seek to undermine our democracy. I meant it”, Ford added.

“I fully expect partisan attacks as a response to these indictments – just as I received when some thought I would not seek to hold these defendants accountable. But I do not make prosecutorial decisions based on public opinion or political persuasion – neither from those who agree with me nor those who disagree with me. Our only considerations have been justice and the public interest. Not partisans, politics, opinions, or pundits,” Ford stressed.

The Globe has learned that resources within the Attorney General office have been reallocated from capital murder cases to the “fake elector” cases in the state Supreme Court and Carson City. At the time of publishing, Ford had not responded to our request for comment.

Update 11.08 PM, December 12: John Sadler, Communications Director for the Office of the Attorney General, emailed The Globe denying that resources have been reallocated to the “fake elector” cases, referring to the sourced information  as “categorically false.”