A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC), the Nevada GOP, and individual Nevada voter Scott Johnston, alleging inaccuracies in Nevada’s voter rolls and violations of federal law. The plaintiffs claimed that certain counties in the state had more registered voters than eligible adult citizens, raising concerns about voter fraud and the legitimacy of votes cast in the upcoming election.
In her ruling on Oct. 18, U.S. District Judge Cristina Silva rejected the lawsuit, stating that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate concrete legal harm as required by Article III of the Constitution for federal court jurisdiction. The judge sided with Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar and county election officials, concluding that the plaintiffs’ concerns about vote dilution were speculative and did not warrant judicial intervention.
The lawsuit, initially filed in March 2024 and amended in July, alleged that Nevada violated the National Voter Registration Act by failing to maintain accurate voter rolls. The plaintiffs highlighted registration rates exceeding the number of eligible adult residents in several counties, such as Douglas County at 106 percent and Storey County at 115 percent, suggesting potential voter fraud and election integrity issues.
The plaintiffs also argued that Nevada’s shift to universal mail-in voting necessitated more accurate voter roll maintenance to prevent mailing ballots to ineligible individuals. They sought a declaratory judgment and requested the Secretary of State to implement stricter list maintenance procedures before the 2024 election.
In response, the Nevada Secretary of State and co-defendants contended that the lawsuit was based on misleading data and that Nevada’s list maintenance practices were robust. They argued that the allegations of inadequate voter roll maintenance undermining election confidence and claims of vote dilution due to fraud were too generalized to establish legal standing.
Judge Silva agreed with the defendants, finding that the plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient evidence of a credible threat of fraud or harm to voting rights. She dismissed the claims made by individual plaintiff Scott Johnston with prejudice, barring him from refiling, but allowed the RNC and Nevada GOP to submit an amended complaint addressing legal standing concerns by Nov. 1.
The Nevada GOP has not responded to requests for comment on the ruling. Please rewrite this sentence.
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