NV Judge Rules Mail Ballots Without A Postmark Can Be Counted After ‘Election Day’

Last Friday, Carson City District Judge James Russell denied a motion to prohibit the counting of mail ballots which lack a postmark and are received by county clerks after “Election Day.” The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee, Nevada GOP, and the Trump campaign last June against Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and county election officials.

At the time of the filing, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley remarked, “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.”

According to state law, passed unilaterally by the Democrat majority during the pandemic, a mail ballot received by the county clerk must be postmarked on or before the day of the election and received no later than 5 pm on the fourth day after the day of the election. If a mail ballot is received no later than 5 pm on the third day following the election and the date of the postmark cannot be determined, the mail ballot shall be deemed to have been postmarked on or before “Election Day.”

Simply deeming untraceable, unverified mail ballots as ‘valid’ is an obvious flaw, not a feature, in an election. Yet, the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Democratic lawmakers repeatedly state that Nevada has “safe and secure elections.”

We will continue to say it as many times as you need to hear it. We have safe and secure elections in Nevada. https://t.co/dFLq5VXdMw

— Cecelia González (@CeceliaGNV) August 7, 2024

Adding to the unsubstantiated and repeated claims of “safe and secure” elections in a crucial battleground state, Democrats codified unlimited ballot harvesting and unmanned, unsurveilled drop boxes at locations throughout each county, as determined by the county clerk. The drop boxes are utilized by voters, ballot harvesters, and ballot-harvesting groups. The ballots dumped into the drop boxes are considered mail ballots.

Since the 2020 election, the RNC has created an election integrity group within the organization and has filed over 80 lawsuits across the country. In the last two months, Republican plaintiffs have lost three lawsuits challenging the various aspects of Nevada’s election laws.

In July, a federal judge appointed by former president Barack Obama, dismissed a complaint which challenged the extension of voting beyond election day.

The lawsuit contended: “Exercising its constitutional power to pass laws governing elections for federal offices, Congress has established one specific day as the uniform, national Election Day for members of the United States House of Representatives and of the United States Senate…For both offices, the “Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November” is “the day for the election;” and concluded, “uniform rules for federal elections” are “binding on the States and superior to conflicting state laws” that dilute Republican votes and campaign resources.

Judge Miranda Du ruled, “The Nevada mail ballot receipt deadline does not have an ‘individual and personal’ effect on the voting power of Republican voters; it neither undermines their access to the polls nor disproportionately diminishes the weight of their votes relative to other Nevada voters.”

In March, national and state Republicans filed a lawsuit challenging the accuracy of voter rolls in multiple counties. A federal judge cited ‘lack of standing’ and dismissed the case.

In May, the Public Interest Legal Foundation filed a petition for mandamus to compel Washoe County Interim Registrar Cari-Ann Burgess to investigate and fix commercial addresses on the county’s voter rolls. In June, the foundation followed with a filing in Clark County.

During their investigation, the foundation uncovered voters registered at casinos, vacant lots, gas stations, strip clubs, warehouses, business parks, and fast food restaurants. Under Nevada law, individuals are required to register to vote where they live. Additionally, state law requires election officials to perform voter list maintenance to ensure the voter roll is accurate.

Despite the numerous and glaring opportunities for fraud, due to the lack of controls and robust voter verification, Democrat officials will continue to repeat that Nevada has “safe and secure” elections, until, of course, they lose a pivotal election like they did in 2016.

The Globe reached out to RNC spokesperson Claire Zunk for comment on their continued efforts. At the time of publishing, she was unavailable for comment.