Nevada Voting Lawsuit: Trump Campaign Efforts To Stop State Mail-In Ballot Plan Rejected By Federal Judge

A federal judge on Monday rejected a lawsuit from President Trump’s reelection campaign to prevent Nevada from mailing paper ballots to all registered active voters.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak posted on Twitter: "I'm pleased to see a federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block a measure passed to expand options for Nevadans and provide for safe, fair & accessible elections during the pandemic."

U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan ruled that there was a failure to establish any grounds for a suit, granting Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske's request to dismiss the case.

"Although they purport to allege constitutional harms that go beyond these policy disagreements, at this juncture, plaintiffs' allegations remain just that," wrote Mahan, who was appointed in 2001 by former President George W. Bush.

Nevada expanded mail-in voting in August due to the coronavirus pandemic. Trump was quick to criticize and accuse the governor of using the outbreak "to steal the state."

While Trump has dismissed mail-in voting, Democrats and Republicans benefit equally from the vote-by-mail programs, according to research in April by the Institute for Economic Policy Research at Stanford University.

Attorneys for the Nevada secretary of state had warned Thursday in a virtual state court hearing that blocking the law could wreak havoc mere weeks before the election.

"Let me emphasize, there is great potential at this point to disenfranchise voters if an order issues enjoining the mailing of ballots," said Gregory Zunino, an attorney for the secretary of state.