DNC Seeks Dismissal of RNC ‘Junk’ Lawsuit, Claims RNC is ‘Sowing Distrust in Elections’

The Globe first reported that the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Republican National Committee and the Nevada GOP filed a lawsuit alleging five Nevada counties are violating the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA) by not maintaining clean and accurate voter rolls. The counties named are Carson City, Clark, Douglas, Lyon, and Storey. Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and the respective county clerks are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that at least five counties in Nevada have inordinately high voter registration rates; at least three Nevada counties have more registered voters than they have adult citizens who are over the age of 18; and, an additional two counties have voter registration rates that exceed 90 percent of adult citizens over the age of 18–a figure that “far eclipses the national and statewide voter registration rate in recent elections.”

Today, The Democratic National Committee has filed an amicus brief (see below) requesting that the judge presiding over the case dismiss the “dangerous” and “flawed” lawsuit, warning that the lawsuit represents former President Donald Trump’s attempt to interfere in and undermine the public’s confidence in the upcoming November elections. The RNC’s lawsuit, they maintain, is nothing short of “political theater.”

“This lawsuit is not meant to protect the integrity of upcoming elections, but instead to provide the RNC with ammunition to undermine the general election’s results,” the brief says. “Indeed, former President Trump is already asserting interference with the 2024 general election, months before a single vote has been cast or counted.”

“Donald Trump and Republicans know they can’t win this election fair and square, so they’re doubling down on their losing 2020 playbook and taking aim at our voting rights and democracy. They will fail again,” Biden campaign spokesman Charles Lutvak said in a statement to CNN. “Our team is prepared and continuing the fight for democracy, we are defending the right to free and fair elections against Republicans’ junk lawsuits, and we will defeat Donald Trump once and for all in November.”

Last week, the Trump Campaign, the Republican National Committee (RNC), and the Nevada Republican Party (NVGOP) filed a lawsuit challenging Nevada’s acceptance of mail ballots up to four days after Election Day, including unreadable postmarks received up to three days after Election Day. The complaint contends that the counting of ballots after Election Day violates federal election laws established by Congress.

For background, the Democratic majority in the Nevada legislature ushered in sweeping changes to state election laws during the pandemic. Legislation passed in 2021 legalized unlimited ballot harvesting, ballots by mail to all actively-registered voters, and extended deadlines for mail-in ballots.

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

The RNC has filed over 80 lawsuits in a variety of jurisdictions to oppose “unlawful schemes” such as bloated voter rolls, questionable signature verification methods, and the delayed tabulation of ballots.

In an interview Sunday on Fox News, RNC Chairwoman Lara Trump referred to the recent litigation in Nevada over mail-in ballots as “one of the many lawsuits we have out across this country to ensure that … we have a free, fair and transparent election.”