Nevada’s Vanishing Act: When Election Evidence Disappears, Trust Goes With It

Nevada folks, if you’ve been keeping tabs on Pastor Andy Michael Thompson’s dogged pursuit of election transparency, the Henderson resident just added another layer to his federal court saga on November 25, 2025. In a filing that’s as polite as it is pointed, Thompson asked the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to confirm the docket is complete in his case against the Secretary of State (No. 2:25-cv-01284-CDS-EJY). He’s not accusing anyone of funny business, but he’s highlighting the state’s radio silence on his earlier motions and objection. It’s like checking if all the cards are on the table before the dealer calls the hand, especially when the pot involves something as precious as our vote counts. This move underscores a bigger issue Thompson’s been hammering: the destruction of 2024 election evidence, and what that means for everyday legal voters like you and me.

Let’s cut through the court lingo and get to the core. Thompson’s request notes that his motions for sanctions over data spoliation (ECF 21) and to compel Dominion Voting Systems documents (ECF 22) went unopposed by the state. Under local rule LR 7-2(d), that’s basically consent to granting them. His Rule 72(a) objection to the magistrate’s denials (ECF 25) is also sitting there without a peep from the defendant. So, he’s asking the clerk to verify everything’s logged right, ensuring Judge Cristina D. Silva has the full picture for review. It’s a smart, pro se play, Thompson’s going it alone without a lawyer, to preserve the record for possible appeal. No drama, just diligence, but it shines a light on how the state’s non-response might hand him wins by default.

Now, why zoom in on this? Because at the heart of Thompson’s fight is the wipe-out of key 2024 election data, and this filing keeps that front and center. Picture this: Federal law requires states to keep election records, things like ballot images, digital logs, and tabulation files, for 22 months after a federal vote. That’s to allow checks if something smells off. But in Nevada, as Thompson’s earlier filings detail (like ECF 26-29, which include chronologies and declarations), the Secretary of State’s office okayed software updates to Dominion systems from version 5.17 to 5.20 starting July 21, 2025. Those updates overwrote the old data, making it gone for good, without ironclad backups. It’s like hitting delete on your tax returns right before the auditor knocks.

In simple terms, destruction of evidence here means spoliation, intentionally or carelessly losing stuff that’s supposed to be preserved, especially during a lawsuit. Thompson calls it out in his supplemental declaration (ECF 26), with exhibits showing state emails admitting the overwrite happened after he sued. A July 10, 2025, message from Chief Deputy AG Gregory D. Ott laid out the timeline, just days before Thompson’s federal summons. By September 30, the deed was done. No more way to forensically audit the 2024 votes, including odd patterns Thompson spotted in Clark County’s mail-ins: batches where anti-Trump votes synced perfectly with no’s on Ballot Question 3, like clockwork that real voters don’t follow.

Question 3, that push for open primaries and ranked-choice voting, got shot down by voters in 2024 after passing narrowly in 2022. But Thompson’s point isn’t the outcome; it’s the questions those patterns raise. Was it a glitch? Human error? Something shadier? We’ll never know now, because the evidence vanished. That’s the absurdity, in a state famous for surveillance in casinos, where every slot pull is tracked, our election machines get a free pass to erase history mid-dispute.

Why should this keep you up at night, fellow legal voter? Elections are the beating heart of our system, guaranteed by the Constitution’s Article IV, Section 4, that promise of a republican government, where power comes from us through fair, verifiable processes. When records disappear, trust crumbles. You cast your ballot thinking it’s counted right, but without proof, doubts creep in. In swing-state Nevada, where margins are razor-thin, one uncheckable anomaly could flip a senate seat or a ballot measure. Thompson’s notices (ECF 27-29) hammer this, showing a timeline of ignored preservation pleas, leading to what he calls a “structural due process collapse.” It’s not just his fight; it’s about ensuring no voter gets shortchanged.

The state’s quiet? It speaks volumes. No opposition to sanctions that could infer the lost data hid irregularities, or to forcing over Dominion contracts revealing preservation duties. Thompson’s chronology (ECF 29) lists it all: motions to preserve denied or ignored, data gone anyway. It’s like a suspect saying nothing while the evidence room burns, courts often see that as telling.

We’ve chronicled Thompson’s journey from state dismissal to federal objections, DOJ referral, and now this docket check. It all circles back to that data destruction, turning a simple audit ask into a constitutional showdown. So, what’s a voter to do? Start local: Visit your county election site, ask about record-keeping post-updates. Or email Secretary Aguilar’s office, how do they square overwrites with federal law? Join transparency pushes, like demanding paper trails. After all, if evidence can evaporate like morning dew in the desert, what’s stopping the next count from being a mirage? Your voice matters; make it heard before the next ballot drops.

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