Georgia prosecutes Trump and allies. Will Nevada follow suit?

A day after Donald Trump and others were indicted over allegations of trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, it remains unclear if similar prosecutions could occur in Nevada.

Trump, the 45th president of the United States and current presidential candidate, and 18 of his allies — some of whom were the so-called fake electors who signed certificates declaring him the winner of Georgia — face multiple racketeering charges for their efforts to overturn the presidential election.

Just last month, Michigan’s attorney general pressed charges against the “false electors” who also signed fake Electoral College documents in that state.

But the fate of the six Nevada Republican electors who met in Carson City in the wake of the 2020 election and signed similar documents declaring Trump the winner of the Silver State — despite losing the state by more than 30,000 votes — remains up in the air.

‘Could be revisited’

The 97-page indictment in Georgia alleges that Trump and his allies created an enterprise to overturn and influence the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

While the charges focus on the Peach State and the fake Electoral College documents submitted to the Georgia State Capitol, it does make mention of allegedly similar “schemes” that took place in other battleground states, including Nevada.

Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford has kept his cards close to his chest about possible actions against Nevada’s fake electors, whose actions his office called “anti-American” on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

“I think we’ve been left in the dark as far as where that stands in Nevada,” said Dan Lee, a UNLV political science professor.

The attorney general’s office, who declined to comment but pointed the Las Vegas Review-Journal to its statement on X, reviewed Nevada’s criminal statutes and determined they do not directly address the electors’ conduct, according to the statement it released Aug. 3 after Michigan’s fake electors were charged.

“This review was based on currently available evidence and information,” the statement said. “However, the issue could be revisited if further information comes to light.”

While the attorney general’s office does not think Nevada’s laws at this time address the electors’ actions, the office said Ford will continue to seek a remedy, such as legislation he supported that would have made the actions of the fake electors illegal in Nevada. That legislation was vetoed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in June.

How Nevada differs from Georgia

While the accusations in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ Georgia indictment portray Trump as playing a large role in Georgia’s elections, the documents the Department of Justice received from Nevada election officials show that Trump did not appear to have been as active in the Silver State’s election.

In Georgia, Trump himself made multiple calls to officials in Georgia, including telling the Georgia secretary of state that he needed to find 12,000 votes.

As part of its investigation, the Justice Department subpoenaed the Nevada secretary of state’s office and Clark County, requesting communications from people associated with Trump’s campaign.

In response, then-Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske provided an email from Oct. 21, 2020, sent from Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald to Mark Wlashchin, the deputy secretary of state for elections, about a Zoom meeting with Trump’s Nevada “Stop the Steal” lawyers.

Clark County also responded with emails between then-Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Law and Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria about the election process, ballot tallying, mail ballot schedules and polling locations.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.