LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Hours after Nevada’s six electors cast their votes for President-elect Joe Biden through the official state process, the Nevada Republican Party’s six electors signed paperwork signaling their support for President Donald Trump in a symbolic ceremony devoid of any legal merit.
The Supreme Court of Nevada and Gov. Steve Sisolak certified the election for Biden last month. In certifying the results, the governor directed the electors from the winning presidential candidate’s party to cast their votes.
Nevada’s Electoral College met Monday morning to cast the state’s six electoral votes for Biden. During a Zoom meeting with the Secretary of State’s Office, the electors cast their ballots and held them up so they could be seen. The constitutional process took place across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
A few hours after the official state process had ended, a video accompanied a tweet from the Nevada GOP, saying, “History made today in Carson City,” as footage showed Republican electors signing papers on a table. The event was live streamed on a YouTube channel called “Right Side Broadcasting Network.”
The Republican meeting was not a state-sanctioned electoral vote and has no legality in the actual process. The official electoral vote for the president-elect, performed in front of state leaders, will be the one submitted to Congress. No state can submit more than one set of electoral votes.
“Our brave electors standing up for what is right and casting their electoral votes for @realDonaldTrump,” the state party’s Twitter account later tweeted. “We believe in fair elections and will continue the fight against voter fraud in the Silver State!”
In a statement to the I-Team, Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald said the party’s electors convened in Carson City due to ongoing legal battles seeking to overturn the election results.
“The people of Nevada did not have a fair election due to the irregularities and fraud seen throughout the state,” McDonald said. “With ongoing challenges and evidence left to be investigated, we must submit our electoral votes for the rightful victors and allow Congress to make a determination.”
Last week, the state supreme court denied the 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 electors of the State of Nevada, voted for at the general election, shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the secretary of state, and the chief justice of the supreme court, and the associate justices, or a majority thereof, shall meet at the office of the secretary of state, on a day to be fixed by law, and open and canvass the election returns for United States senator and member of Congress, district and state officers, and for and against any questions submitted to the electors of the State of Nevada, and forthwith declare the result and publish the names of the persons elected and the results of the vote cast upon any question submitted to the electors of the State of Nevada.”
Constitution of the State of Nevada
Attorneys for the president’s campaign asked the court to reverse a district court judge’s decision to not overturn Nevada’s presidential election result, citing voter fraud and deceased voters having ballots cast in their names. In his ruling, Judge James Russell said the lawyers failed to prove the election was swayed by fraudulent or illegal votes.
The evidence, which included 20 binders-worth of materials, was submitted to the court under seal, meaning it could not be viewed publicly. All the evidence continues to be shielded from public view.
The I-Team has repeatedly asked to see evidence of alleged fraud.
The initial lawsuit sought to prevent the Democratic Party’s electors from casting their votes for Biden. Certified election results show Biden winning the race in Nevada by more than 2%, or 33,000 votes.
Before the state Supreme Court issued its ruling, 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.
Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, oversaw the Electoral College vote in Nevada on Monday. Her office said she did not have a comment on the Republican event.
The event had no legal standing. Biden’s aides said the Electoral College votes should send a message to Trump and his supporters that the election is now finalized.
Biden aides said they hope Republicans will consider their own long-term interests and the country’s, accept Trump’s defeat and focus their attention on fighting the coronavirus pandemic and staving off economic tumult.
Attorney General Bill Barr, a Republican, has said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The I-Team found three instances of voter fraud in Nevada. Five people voted in Clark County twice. Their names were forwarded to the Secretary of State’s Office for potential prosecution, officials said. Voter fraud is a felony and carries a fine and jail time.
Before the election, the I-Team compared state data and other information provided by the White House and compiled by the Heritage Foundation. Out of more than seven million votes cast in Nevada elections between 2008 and 2018, two votes are known to have been cast illegally. A person who was not in the country legally cast one vote in the 2008 general election and voted again in 2010.
