Elections · Nevada
Attorney General Aaron Ford asks the Nevada Supreme Court to revive the dismissed 2020 fake electors case
Ford filed a notice of appeal Oct. 12, two months after a judge threw out charges against six Republicans accused of trying to give Nevada's electoral votes to Donald Trump in 2020.
What happened
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is asking the Nevada Supreme Court to review the dismissal of the so-called fake electors case, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. His office filed a notice of appeal in District Court on Oct. 12.
The filing came two months after District Judge Mary Kay Holthus dismissed the case against six Republicans. The state had accused them of trying to award Nevada's six Electoral College votes to Donald Trump after his unsuccessful 2020 re-election bid. The defendants denied wrongdoing.
"We believe that the District Court's decision was wrong and we are confident that the Supreme Court of Nevada will agree," Ford said in a statement, according to the Review-Journal.
Why the judge dismissed the case
In her August order, Holthus wrote that she did not think prosecutors had sufficiently proved the charges, the Review-Journal reported. She also raised concerns about how the case was brought to a grand jury.
Concerns about the grand jury
Holthus found that prosecutors failed in their duty to present exculpatory evidence, meaning evidence that could favor the defendants, when they secured the indictment. She wrote that this failure had a substantial impact on the integrity of the grand jury's decision.
Doubts about intent
The judge wrote that "the State's evidence of fraudulent intent was, at best, minimal," according to the Review-Journal. She had also expressed doubts that the defendants had any chance of actually giving Trump the state's votes.
Who was charged and what the state alleged
The six people who were charged are Michael McDonald, Jesse Law, Eileen Rice, James Degraffenreid, Durward Hindle III and Shawn Meehan. Their attorneys did not immediately comment on the appeal, the Review-Journal reported.
Party leaders among the six
McDonald is chair of the Nevada Republican Party, and Law is a former chair of the Clark County Republican Party, according to the Review-Journal.
The certificate at the center of the case
Trump lost Nevada to then-President Joe Biden by about 30,000 votes in 2020. Afterward, the defendants gathered outside the Nevada Legislature and signed a certificate that purported to give the Republican nominee the state's electoral votes, then sent it to officials, the Review-Journal reported. A parallel criminal case filed in Carson City was also dismissed.
The political backdrop
Ford is also the Democratic candidate for governor, running against Gov. Joe Lombardo in a race the Review-Journal describes as closely watched. Both candidates have made the economy and affordability central issues. Readers can follow more on the Nevada governor's race and other contests in our elections coverage.
After the August order, Ford's office said he intended to appeal. McDonald's attorney, Richard Wright, said the effort was likely politically motivated, according to the Review-Journal. Ford said his office's job is to seek justice and that it will continue to do so in this case.
Early voting for the Nov. 3 midterm election began Saturday in Clark County and statewide, the Review-Journal reported. Dozens of early voting sites across the county are open through Oct. 30, with hours that vary by location.
What to watch next
- Whether the Nevada Supreme Court reverses Judge Holthus's dismissal, as Ford's office is asking it to do.
- How attorneys for the six defendants respond to the appeal; they had not commented as of the Review-Journal's report.
- Early voting in Clark County continues through Oct. 30 ahead of the Nov. 3 election, in which Ford is on the ballot for governor.
