DNC joins in calls to dismiss Nevada case alleging voter roll inconsistencies

The Democratic National Committee joined in calls to dismiss a case filed by the Republican National Committee alleging inconsistencies in Nevada’s voter rolls.

In a motion filed Monday with support from the Biden-Harris campaign, the DNC accused the RNC of using the case — which it called “political theater” — to sow public distrust in elections and to use it as ammunition to undermine the November general election results.

“By creating a false narrative that American elections are replete with election fraud and vowing to put an end to it, the RNC positions itself as the antidote to a fictional crisis of its own making,” the DNC wrote.

“In reality, the greatest threat to confidence in the integrity of our elections is not fraud or voter-roll maintenance practices, but unfounded attacks on election integrity,” it said.

Alleged voter roll inconsistencies

The RNC, Nevada Republican Party and a Republican voter filed a lawsuit in March alleging the state failed to maintain accurate voter rolls and is not complying with the National Voter Registration Act. They alleged three counties — Douglas, Lyon and Storey — have more registered voters than adult citizens over 18, and that five other counties — Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Eureka and Washoe — have what it called “suspiciously high rates” of registered voters.

Nevada rebuffed those claims, arguing that the data RNC was using to determine the validity of the state’s voter registration records was like “comparing apples to orangutans,” and that the RNC’s analysis was made using incomparable data. One of the defendants in the case, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, filed a motion to dismiss the case in April.

The DNC echoed similar arguments in its recent motion and claimed the RNC’s lawsuit is an attempt to continue efforts made in 2020 to overturn election results and to cast a cloud over the 2024 elections. It highlighted the more than 60 lawsuits that were filed to challenge the 2020 general election, and how all of them were dismissed.

An RNC spokesperson reiterated the committee’s accusation of inaccuracies in Nevada’s voter rolls on Monday in response to the DNC’s motion.

“It speaks volumes that Democrats are laser-focused on stopping voter roll cleanup instead of solving any of the crises that have erupted on their watch,” the spokesperson said in an email Monday.

Targeting the state’s voter rolls is not the only action Republicans have taken to challenge Nevada’s election processes ahead of the June primary and November general election. Last week, the RNC, Nevada Republican Party and Trump campaign challenged a state law allowing for mail ballots to be counted up to four days after an election as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day.

‘Political purpose’

The DNC alleges the RNC only filed the lawsuit for a political purpose to lay the groundwork for future post-election litigation claiming the 2024 election was ridden with fraud. The National Voter Registration Act prohibits states from implementing programs to cancel voter registrations within 90 days of a federal election, the DNC wrote. The RNC cannot get relief before the June 11 primary because the NVRA required Nevada to suspend voter removal programs no later than March 13, five days before the plaintiffs filed their complaint, according to the motion from the DNC.

“These circumstances make clear that this lawsuit is not meant to protect the integrity of upcoming elections, but instead to provide the RNC and its Republican allies with ammunition to undermine the general election’s results,” the DNC wrote.

Nonpartisan orgs join in

Two nonpartisan organizations, Campaign Legal Center and the ACLU of Nevada, also filed a motion recently calling on the district court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it is based on flawed metrics and seeks more aggressive removal of voters from the rolls than what federal law requires.

The two organizations argued similar claims that have been filed over the years questioning list maintenance practices have been meritless. Many are dismissed at early stages for insufficient facts, and the majority are voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiffs, the ACLU and CLC wrote in their brief.

“These dubious efforts sow unwarranted and harmful doubts about election officials’ diligent efforts to maintain Nevada’s voter rolls and administer free and fair elections, including the upcoming 2024 election,” the brief filed Friday said.

The Institute for a Progressive Nevada, Nevada Alliance for Retired Americans and Rise Action Fund also previously joined the lawsuit calling on the case to be dismissed.

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