Exclusive: Sigal Chattah Files Motion To Intervene on Behalf of Repair The Vote PAC

Sigal Chattah, Republican candidate for Attorney General, has filed a motion to intervene (see below) on behalf of Repair the Vote PAC in response to two lawsuits filed by The Elias Law Group on behalf of Democratic activists Emily Persaud-Zamora and Eric Jeng. The plaintiffs primarily allege that the ballot initiatives proposed by Repair the Vote violate Nevada law; that voter fraud has been “widely debunked”; and, that voter identification suppresses the minority vote and is cost prohibitive.

As reported by The Globe:

“The lawsuits on behalf of Persaud-Zamora and Jeng were filed by lawyers from the D.C. law firm of Marc Elias. Elias was general counsel for the Clinton campaign during the 2016 election and cited in the Durham report’s investigation into the Russia collusion FBI investigation into President Trump–which turned out to be a manufactured, damaging narrative by the Clinton campaign. Elias also influenced changes to election procedures in a variety of states during the 2020 election by filing dozens of  lawsuits and legal challenges.

According to the Persaud-Zamora and Jeng lawsuits, Repair the Vote’s ballot initiative requires the following for mail in ballots:

“The second change that the Petition would make would be to revise the vote by mail process to require Nevadans who vote by mail to include an identifying number from one of several specified government-issued documents with their mail-in ballots. Voters who possess a Nevada driver’s license would be required to list the last four digits of their license numbers, those who lack a qualifying license would list the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, and those that have neither a qualifying license nor a Social Security number would list a special number provided for this purpose by the county clerk when they registered to vote.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuits claim:

“In reality, the negative effects of strict voter identification laws like those the Petition proposes are well documented, and the need for such measures to safeguard “voter integrity” and prevent voter fraud has been widely debunked and discredited. One widely-cited study found that as many as 11% of U.S. citizens-or more than 21 million Americans-do not have government-issued photo identification. The shortfall does not fall evenly across all demographics: Black, Hispanic, young, and low-income voters are many times more likely to lack these forms of identification than their respective white, non-Hispanic, older, and higher-income counterparts. And the combined cost of document fees, travel expenses, and waiting time needed to obtain even ostensibly “free” identification cards is has been estimated to range from $75 to $175, making it cost prohibitive for many eligible voters to rectify their lack of identification.”

They also argue that Repair the Vote’s initiative is characterized as a “voter integrity” initiative, but “the description of effect is utterly silent on the impact that the measure would have on eligible Nevada voters’ ability to successfully exercise their right to vote, should it be enacted.” Due to this, the plaintiff’s argue that the measure’s description is “legally deficient because it is argumentative, confusing, deceptive, and misleading” and in violation of Nevada law.

They also seeks an injunction against the Repair the Voter Initiative that would ban mail in ballots claiming that Repair the Vote’s official description as restoring voter integrity is, “..the description of effect is also misleading because it fails to give a complete and accurate accounting of the Petition’s effects.”

Sigal Chattah told The Globe: “Every Nevadan of all backgrounds needs to be assured that in this state, your vote matters and your vote counts. This is why I intervened on behalf of Repair the Vote PAC to preserve voter integrity throughout our state. I believe it is my duty to serve the public regardless of political affiliation to protect our most fundamental patriotic duty.”