LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Supreme Court of Nevada has denied President Donald Trump campaign’s request to overturn the state’s election results and proclaim the president the winner.
The court issued its affirmation of a lower court’s ruling late Tuesday night.
“The judgment of the district court affirmed,” a message on the court’s website stated. “Given our disposition, we will take no action on the pending motions.”
Attorneys for the campaign asked the court to reverse a district court judge’s decision to not overturn Nevada’s presidential election result. In his ruling Friday, Judge James Russell said the lawyers failed to prove the election was swayed by fraudulent or illegal votes.
In this state case, lawyers representing the Republican Party’s electors and the president’s campaign said:
- 1,506 votes cast in the election came from dead voters
- 2,468 votes were cast by voters who changed their address to another state or country
- 42,284 voters voted twice
- About 20,000 voters voted in Nevada without a Nevada mailing address
The evidence, which included 20 binders-worth of materials, was submitted to the court under seal, meaning it could not be viewed publicly. It continues to be shielded from public view.
In their ruling, six state supreme court justices unanimously agreed lawyers for the Trump campaign failed to show the district court judge had committed any legal error when hearing their arguments.
“We also are not convinced that the district court erred in applying a burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence, as supported by the cases cited in the district court’s order,” the justices wrote in their opinion. “And, in any event, the district court further determined that appellants had not met their burden even if it applied a lesser standard. Finally, the district court’s order thoroughly addressed the grounds asserted in the statement of contest filed by appellants and considered the
evidence offered by appellants even when that evidence did not meet the requirements under Nevada law for expert testimony.”
Six justices signed the order. Justice Elissa Cadish voluntarily recused herself from the case Monday.
The Nevada Republican Party issued a statement after the ruling:
“We are extremely disappointed in the NV Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss our appeal this evening. Few things are more important than the integrity of a presidential election. When we presented compelling evidence in court last week, the court quickly shrugged it off and rubber stamped the fraudulent result without due consideration or even hearing directly from witnesses. We then immediately appealed to the Supreme Court of Nevada. Tonight, just hours later, the NV Supreme Court rushed to judgment in the same flawed manner, failing to adequately consider thousands of pages of critical important evidence. We were not afforded an opportunity to write our brief or argue the case in front of the Supreme Court. Full denial of legitimate due process and appellate rights is truly unprecedented, shocking and extraordinary.”
Nevada Republican Party
Both parties filed briefs with the court before the ruling. The court did not hear any in-person arguments.
Earlier in the day Tuesday, lawyers for the president’s campaign and the Nevada Republican Party’s electors unsuccessfully asked the court to disqualify one justice because he congratulated the secretary of state on a successful election.
During the brief ceremony, Justice James Hardesty commented about Cegavske and her office’s work.
“I just want to commend the secretary of state and her office for the extraordinary work they did under very difficult circumstances,” Hardesty said, according to court documents. “They are to be congratulated for carrying out an extraordinarily successful election. The turnout is incredible.”
Five justices wrote later in the day that Hardesty’s comments were not problematic.
Specifically, this lawsuit sought to prevent the Democratic Party’s electors from casting their votes for President-elect Joe Biden. Certified election results show Biden winning the race in Nevada by more than 2%, or 33,000 votes.
The electors are scheduled to meet Monday, Dec. 14. Tuesday’s ruling effectively ends the campaign’s appellate process in Nevada. A previous case filed in federal court was withdrawn last month.
