(CN) — The Republican Party and its presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump sued Nevada and its two biggest counties Friday over the policy of accepting late-arriving vote-by-mail ballots up to four days after Election Day.
"Nevada effectively extends Nevada’s federal election past the Election Day established by Congress," the parties say in their federal complaint. "The result of Nevada’s violation of federal law is that timely, valid ballots are diluted by untimely, invalid ballots, which violates the rights of candidates, campaigns, and voters under federal law."
In a statement, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said, "Our office will not comment on ongoing litigation, but I hope the RNC is putting as much time and energy into educating voters on how to participate in elections as they put into suing the state of Nevada."
He added: "Nevada runs some of the most secure, transparent, and accessible elections in the country. The key for that accessibility is allowing working Nevadans to vote using the method that works best for them, including voting by mail."
The Trump campaign sued Nevada in 2020 over its acceptance of late-arriving ballots. That earlier policy was based on "elections impacted by emergencies or disasters,” and the Covid-19 pandemic was considered such a disaster. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit. In 2021, the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed a law allowing ballots that arrive up to four days after Election Day to be counted regardless of the circumstances.
“Nevada’s ballot receipt deadline clearly violates federal law and undermines election integrity in the state,” said Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley in a written statement. “Ballots received days after Election Day should not be counted.”
Trump has a history of denigrating vote-by-mail voting as being vulnerable to fraud and abuse. Partially as a result of that rhetoric, Republicans tend to disproportionately avoid voting by mail, what experts called, in the wake of Joe Biden's 2020 victory, the "blue shift." Mail-in voting soared to historic highs in 2020, largely due to Covid, and that mail-in voting was dominated by Democrats. In Pennsylvania, a key swing state, Biden beat Trump among absentee ballots by more than 50 points, while losing to Trump amongst Election Day voters by more than 30 points. In total, Biden edged Trump by just 1% of the vote.
Nevada, one of 19 states to accept ballots that arrive after Election Day, was similarly close: its 6 electoral points went to Biden, who won the state by just 2%.
"Voting by mail is even more polarized by party in Nevada specifically," Trump and the GOP say in the complaint. "In Nevada’s 2020 general election, 60.3% of Democratic voters voted by mail, compared to just 36.9% of Republican voters."
The plaintiffs add: "Counting mail ballots received after Election Day doesn’t just dilute the valid ballots — it specifically and disproportionately harms Republican candidates and voters."
The Republican Party has also sued over vote-counting rules in Mississippi and North Dakota. According to The Associated Press, the party has filed 83 election-related lawsuits.
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