The RNC Cites Election Fraud In Their Battle Over Nevada’s Voter Rolls
October 30, 2024
By: Jason Whitted
In a recent legal challenge, the Republican National Committee, the Nevada Republican Party, and Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc., along with an individual voter, have filed a lawsuit in Nevada’s First Judicial District Court. The plaintiffs are raising concerns about the alleged failure of the Nevada Secretary of State, Francisco Aguilar, to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote in state and federal elections. Nevada, which President Biden won by a slim margin in 2020, is an important swing state in the 2024 election, which brings national attention to these perceived flaws in the administration of the State’s elections.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the claim that Nevada’s voter rolls contain noncitizens, which dilutes the votes of eligible U.S. citizens. The plaintiffs argue that Nevada’s Secretary of State has failed to conduct the necessary maintenance and investigations required by law to remove ineligible voters, specifically noncitizens, from the statewide voter registration list.
The plaintiffs point to evidence from other states, such as Texas and Virginia, where significant numbers of noncitizens were found on voter rolls. According to the complaint, a review of Nevada’s DMV records revealed that over 6,000 individuals who applied for Nevada photo identification with “foreign documents” were matched to the state’s voter registration list, with nearly 4,000 of those individuals’ casting ballots in the 2020 election. The complaint did not verify whether these individuals were noncitizens at the time of the election, and even if they all were, these voters would’ve only comprised 0.003% of the total votes cast in the state.
The plaintiffs are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief under several provisions of the Nevada Constitution. They argue that the Secretary of State’s failure to verify voter eligibility violates the equal protection rights of U.S. citizens by allowing noncitizens to vote, which unfairly dilutes the votes of lawful voters. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that this failure leads to “fraudulently cast” ballots and creates a “fundamental unfairness” of Nevada’s elections, violating a core principle of both state and federal due process laws.
The complaint also emphasizes that the current system disproportionately harms Republican voters, citing data that noncitizens tend to favor Democratic candidates. According to the lawsuit, noncitizen voting has the potential to affect the outcome of close elections, particularly in swing states like Nevada.
This lawsuit is part of a broader trend of Republican officials’ claims of noncitizen voting ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship in order for individuals to register to vote in federal elections. The Nevada Republican Party and the Trump campaign are following this trend and pushing for systematic voter roll maintenance, which would include using federal databases to verify citizenship status, as well as cross-referencing DMV and jury duty disqualification records.
Notably, on the day this complaint was filed, Aguilar announced the implementation of the Voter Registration and Election Management Solution (VREMS) ahead of the 2024 General Election. According to the Office of the Secretary of State, benefits to this new system include: efficient updating to voter rolls, increased transparency, and modernized election processes.
Opponents of this legal action believe that the allegations are excessively inflated and create distrust in elections. According to Barbara Cegavske, the previous Secretary of State, the likely explanation is that voters were naturalized between application for DMV identification and election day. Responding to previous litigation, Cegavske showed that 41,000 documented immigrants were naturalized in Nevada from 2015-2020. Additionally, since 2020, 41,000 more became U.S. citizens.
Opponents assert that these claims are being pushed with the ulterior motive of laying the ground for a potential challenge to election results in the upcoming election. At congressional hearing on noncitizen voting held by the Committee on House Administration, the President and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice, Michael Waldman, stated, “Why is it happening now? It’s being pushed preemptively, I believe, to set the stage for undermining the legitimacy of the 2024 election this year.”
With the announcement by Aguilar, the injunction requested by this lawsuit may be moot because, according to Aguilar, concerns regarding noncitizens on Nevada’s voter rolls have been addressed, and the process will be much more transparent. This legal challenge highlights the growing national debate around election security and voter eligibility, with Republicans calling for stricter verification measures to prevent voter fraud, while Democrats argue that these efforts could suppress lawful voting.
As this lawsuit unfolds, it could become a key issue in the lead-up to Nevada’s 2024 elections. The outcome could have a significant impact on how voter registration is handled not only in Nevada but in other states grappling with similar issues. Whether or not the courts side with the plaintiffs, the case underscores the heightened scrutiny and polarization surrounding U.S. election laws and voter access.