LAS VEGAS (CN) — Donald Trump lost a bid to separate what his campaign deemed as questionable early voting ballots from others in Nevada's Clark County.
Clark County District Judge Gloria Sturman on Tuesday denied the Trump campaign's request to separate ballots filled after Friday's 8 p.m. deadline at several precincts in Clark County.
Sturman said state law already requires the Registrar of Voters to maintain the voting records, and she won't "obligate him to do something he already is obligated to do," CNN reported.
A record 57,154 voters cast early ballots on Friday, the Nevada Secretary of State reported.
Trump and Donald J. Trump for President filed a writ of mandamus at 5:19 p.m. Monday, accusing Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe P. Gloria of illegally keeping an early voting site open Friday night.
"The registrar's violations were not random and neutral in their effect, but very much appear to have been intentionally coordinated with Democratic activists in order to skew the vote unlawfully in favor of Democratic candidates," Trump says in the writ.
In the writ, Trump says poll-watcher Ronald Ketcham "personally appeared at the polling location for Precinct 4536 at Cardenas Market" at 4421 E. Bonanza Road in Las Vegas, and stayed until about 10 p.m.
Trump says the polling location was scheduled to close at 8 p.m., but the head of the polling location told Ketcham and an observer for the Democratic Party that Gloria instructed the location to stay open until 10 p.m.
The head of the polling location told Ketcham other early voting sites were closing on time, and people were being sent to the Cardenas Market location to help Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump says.
Trump says another poll-watcher arrived at the same precinct and witnessed a late arrival get in line to vote at nearly 10 p.m. The watcher tried to record a video of it on his phone, but election officials stopped him since Nevada law does not allow residents to photograph or record videos of voters.
Even after election officials announced the polls were closed at the precinct, Trump says two others still showed up and were allowed to vote.
Trump says at least three other early voting locations likewise were kept open well beyond the state's 8 p.m. deadline.
Several social media medial posts by Democrats and the press informed others that the polls were open late and encouraged voters to continue voting beyond the 8 p.m. deadline, Trump says.
"It appeared that Democrats were aware of his selective enforcement of the law, but Republicans were not, which plainly harmed the later, while improperly benefitting the former," the candidate says.
Trump sought a writ ordering ballots and voting machines from four precincts to be impounded, separated and sequestered pending any legal challenges to Tuesday's election results, plus legal fees.
Attorney Brian Hardy filed the writ request.
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