Records show how Aaron Ford's clemency votes compare to Lombardo's as attack ads air in Nevada's governor race

What happened

Television ads in Nevada's governor race are attacking Democratic candidate and Attorney General Aaron Ford for supporting clemency for 30 people convicted of murder during his eight years in office, The Nevada Independent reported. The ads cite Fox News reporting and often describe the killings in graphic detail. One ad paid for by the pro-Lombardo Better Nevada PAC tells viewers that Ford "voted to go easy on murderers, 30 times."

The Nevada Independent confirmed that Ford did support clemency in those 30 cases. Its review of records also examined Ford's role in each vote on the nine-member pardons board and how his record compares with that of Gov. Joe Lombardo, who also sits on the board. For more on this year's races, see our elections coverage.

What the pardons board records show

Deciding votes

According to The Nevada Independent, 27 of the 30 votes highlighted in the ads passed with more than the five votes required. Ford's vote brought the count to five, and made the difference, in only two of the cases. One other application Ford voted for did not get enough board support and was denied.

How often Ford and Lombardo agreed

Ford's votes on motions tied to 240 clemency applications matched Lombardo's 210 times, the outlet reported, using data provided by the Ford campaign. Lombardo voted no while Ford voted yes 14 times, and Lombardo voted yes while Ford voted no six times. In 10 instances, one of their votes was not assessed or cast.

Records also show that in 12 murder-related clemency cases heard while Lombardo has been in office, the governor did not vote on five unanimous votes. Two of those took place while he was attending the Western Governors' Conference.

How the board works

The board is made up of the governor, the attorney general and the seven justices of the state Supreme Court, and it meets quarterly. It can commute punishments, remit fines or forfeitures and grant pardons for state-level convictions. Clemency requires a majority of the board and at least five yes votes, and a 2020 ballot question ended the governor's veto power over its decisions.

Getting the records

The board's website posts audio recordings of meetings, which often run four to five hours or longer, but no written minutes or vote counts. Transcripts must be requested from the court reporter agency Capitol Reporters and cost money. For 21 meeting transcripts, the agency quoted The Nevada Independent $17,934, with a media discount to $8,967.

What Ford has said

The case at the center of the ads

Pro-Lombardo ads have focused on Ford's sponsorship of an application from a man who shot and killed a pregnant woman while out on bail in a case involving coordinated armed robberies of Strip tourists. Ford said he sponsored it over a disproportionate sentence tied to the robbery charge, at the request of the man's mother. He missed the Sept. 16 meeting for an out-of-state family emergency and said he "would have voted against any form of relief."

Justice and mercy

At a June 23 meeting, Ford said he asks two questions: "what does justice require? And number two, is mercy fitting?" That day the board voted 6-2 to let one man's sentences run concurrently, making him immediately parole-eligible. Ford said he came in as an "absolute no" over gang concerns but was persuaded otherwise.

Ford told the Nevada Current he was being unfairly criticized, pointing to President Donald Trump's pardons and Lombardo's support of Trump. "It's the height of hypocrisy," he told the Current.

Campaign response and ad spending

Lombardo spokesperson Halee Dobbins criticized Ford for not addressing the clemency votes in a public forum. Data from AdImpact as of Saturday shows the Better Nevada PAC ad has drawn more than 581,000 impressions and more than $1.4 million in spending since Oct. 12. Another ad that began airing Friday has at least $60,000 behind it.

The issue has also reached the 2nd Congressional District race, where Republican David Flippo is running an ad tying Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson to the office's support for releasing six murderers. She was Ford's chief of staff but ran only the administrative side and was not a board member, The Nevada Independent reported. Voters can review how mail and in-person voting works in Nevada.

What to watch next

• Whether the audio recording of the Sept. 16 pardons board meeting, not posted as of Thursday, becomes available on the board's website.
• Whether Ford or his campaign answers in-depth questions about his pardons board votes outside of press conferences.
• How the clemency ads, including the one that began airing Friday, shape the closing stretch of a governor's race expected to be one of the closest in the country.