Latest news with #NevadaRepublicanParty
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nevada Supreme Court hears ‘fake electors' case
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Nevada Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday after a Las Vegas judge dismissed the state's case against six Republicans who submitted fake electoral certificates claiming former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. In December 2020, the six so-called 'fake electors' signed paperwork signaling their support for Trump in a symbolic ceremony devoid of any legal merit. The group then mailed the certificates to Washington and to a federal judge. Former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election in Nevada by about 33,000 votes. Trump won re-election last November by more than 46,000 votes. Wednesday's arguments involved the proper venue for the case, not the allegations involving the case itself. The arguments focused on how the documents were mailed to a Las Vegas address and if that means the case should proceed there. The postal service ended up forwarded that mailing to a judge in Reno. Attorneys for the six have argued they signed the documents and mailed them to the judge and to the National Archives amid the Trump campaign and national Republicans' legal efforts to challenge the election results. No case in Nevada yielded them a favorable result, and at that point, in Dec. 14, 2024, no Nevada case remained open. Several judges in those cases noted no evidence of widespread election fraud. In 2023, a Clark County grand jury indicted the six — Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, former Clark County party chairman Jesse Law, Jim DeGraffenreid, Durward James Hindle III, Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice — on charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument, felonies that carry penalties of up to four or five years in prison. The party has since re-elected McDonald and DeGraffenreid to leadership positions. Last summer, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus dismissed the state's case, saying she had no jurisdiction over the matter. Attorneys for the six previously argued Democratic Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford improperly indicted their clients in Clark County instead of northern Nevada, adding that there was no intent to commit a crime. Ford and his office have since re-filed similar charges in Northern Nevada; however, the case could return to Clark County should the high court rule in the state's favor. Nevada law requires the secretary of state to oversee the certification of the state's electoral certificates. Then-Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, oversaw the official certification process on the same day as the Republican signing for Trump. The justices did not issue a ruling Wednesday. Over the past two legislative sessions, Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo has vetoed two bills that would have established penalties for fake electors. In the same election Trump and Republicans cited widespread fraud, Republicans gained seats in the Legislature. Republicans did not cite election fraud after the 2022 election, where Lombardo won by about 15,000 votes, nor the 2024 election, where voters elected Trump to a second term. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nevada governor vetoes ‘fake electors' bill, again
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed legislation aimed at punishing so-called 'fake electors' for the second consecutive legislative session. Earlier this year, Democratic State Sen. Skip Daly, of Washoe County, reintroduced his so-called 'fake electors' bill — numbered this go-around as Senate Bill 102 — which was intended to punish a person who commits the act to at least a year in prison. In 2023, lawmakers passed a similar bill, but Lombardo vetoed it. In his veto message that year, Lombardo said the penalty was too high. The 2025 version added a potential sentence of probation, with an added requirement that a person serve six months in jail. After the bill passed along party lines, the governor vetoed it on Monday. His veto message was not available as of Tuesday afternoon. In addition to prison or jail time and a fine, the bill would have prohibited a person convicted of violating the law from holding a state or local government job, and bar them from elected or appointed office. Voters do not vote for presidential candidates themselves but for a slate of electors, mainly political party leaders, who then in turn, vote for the preferred candidate. In December 2020, six electors from the Nevada Republican Party signed paperwork claiming President Donald Trump won the election when he lost. The group then mailed their certificates to Washington, D.C. In 2023, a Clark County grand jury indicted the group on charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument — felonies that carry penalties of up to four or five years in prison. A district court judge later dismissed the case, citing venue. The Nevada Attorney General's Office has since appealed that decision and refiled the case in Carson City. Trump won re-election in November against Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 46,000 votes. Two of the Republican electors from 2020 served as Republican Party electors in November, signing the state's certificate of ascertainment for Trump's win. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Columbus Day dispute simmers in Nevada as lawmaker pushes Indigenous Peoples' Day change
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A day after President Donald Trump declared he was 'bringing Columbus Day back,' a Nevada Democrat presented a bill in Carson City that would officially move Indigenous Peoples' Day to the second Monday in October. State law currently designates Aug. 9 as Indigenous Peoples' Day, but it is widely celebrated on the same day as Columbus Day. Assem. Shea Backus, who represents District 37 in the northwest Las Vegas valley, calls herself an 'urban Indian,' one of 60,000 who call Nevada home. She noted there are 20 federally recognized tribes including tribal members from 28 bands and colonies. Nevada is the ancestral homeland to people of the Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute, Western Shoshone, Washoe and Fort Mojave tribes. Backus emphasizes that the bill doesn't change Columbus Day, but the issue still touches a nerve for Jill Douglass, who calls it 'the bill that seeks to erase Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples' Day.' Most people used the phone line to protest, but Douglass showed up in person at the Legislature's Las Vegas offices on Warm Springs Road. 'We should not tear down another important part of our history. We should not rewrite our shared story to fit a political agenda,' Douglass said. Joshua Skaggs, legislative affairs director for the Nevada Republican Party, read Trump's statement, posted Sunday on social media: 'I'm bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes. The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation and all of the Italians that love him so much.' Assembly Bill 144 (AB144) was first heard on Feb. 11. It advanced to the Senate on April 15 on a 27-15 vote. The resentment voiced by the bill's opponents was matched by the passion of people who support the change. Noé Orosco, government affairs manager for Make the Road Nevada, invoked indigenous names — including Abya Yala — of the lands that we think of now as the Americas. 'These are more than just words. They are the memories of migration, of knowledge systems that understood the land as a relative, not as a resource,' he said. 'Our stories have been systematically overlooked, distorted or silenced through centuries of colonization, violence and cultural genocide. Recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day is not solely for the benefit of indigenous people, it is an opportunity for all of us to gain a fuller, more accurate understanding of our shared histories,' Orosco said. Sydney Williams, a member of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, said, 'AB144 is not about creating something new, it's about aligning state law with the truth of what already exists.' Williams said the holiday is already being celebrated in October. 'Passing this bill is a necessary step towards respect, visibility and a good-faith relationship with Nevada's indigenous peoples. It costs nothing, yet it carries a profound meaning for communities that have long been overlooked,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump nominates Chattah as Nevada's U.S. Attorney
Sigal Chattah speaking at a Donald Trump rally in Minden in 2022. (C-SPAN screengrab) Nevada Republican National Committeewoman and former political candidate Sigal Chattah has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as interim U.S. Attorney in Nevada, her office confirmed Friday. The interim status will be removed if she is confirmed by the Senate. In a post on X, Nevada Republican Party chairman Michael McDonald said Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi 'have the warrior they need in Nevada. Sigal will rigorously advocate for the President's priorities and investigate corruption throughout the Silver State.' Chattah did not respond to phone calls or texts seeking comment on her nomination. 'Sigal is a fierce defender of personal liberties, best known for her work reopening churches in Nevada after their unconstitutional shutdown,' the Nevada Republican Party said on X. During her unsuccessful run in 2022 for Nevada attorney general, Chattah declared her Democratic opponent, incumbent Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Black man, 'should be hanging from a f–king crane'; longed for fewer 'pronoun badges' and transgender individuals in America, while describing them with an offensive slur; and invited comparisons with Sen. Joe McCarthy and former Pres. Donald Trump by calling for the imprisonment of political foes. Chattah insists she never considered apologizing to Ford for what was widely viewed as a racist comment. 'I think he's a corrupt public official and I think he's betrayed Nevadans. I'm not going to apologize for that,' she said. While campaigning in the AG race, Chattah told the Current that if elected, she'd be a bipartisan nightmare for anyone engaged in public corruption, adding she'd 'absolutely' investigate Trump as well as Nevada's fake electors. 'I don't care whether you have an 'R' or a 'D' by your name. If you're in a criminal enterprise, public corruption, you're getting investigated.' As a candidate, Chattah pledged to 'protect Nevadans' lawful right to keep and bear arms' and 'uphold the Constitutional rights to peaceable assembly and petition the government for a redress of grievances.' In an opinion column in January, Chattah blamed President Barack Obama for 'gross abuses of the Patriot Act,' resulting in the proliferation of domestic terrorism rooted in Islam. 'At best, this encore administration has four years to correct the course of the last 15 years of homegrown Islamic threats to America.' Chattah was born in Israel and moved to the U.S. at the age of 14.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nevada Supreme Court declines to dismiss ‘fake electors' appeal
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Nevada Supreme Court has declined to dismiss an appeal involving the six Republicans charged after falsely claiming President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. In December 2020, the group signed paperwork signaling their support for Trump in a symbolic ceremony devoid of any legal merit. Trump lost the 2020 election in Nevada by more than 33,000 votes — or 2%. The group also sent fake electoral certificates to Washington. Only the official state ceremony that the Secretary of State oversees counts. That year, then-Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, oversaw the state's elector ceremony. In 2023, a Clark County grand jury indicted the six — Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, Clark County party chairman Jesse Law, Jim DeGraffenreid, Durward James Hindle III, Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice — on charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument, felonies that carry penalties of up to four or five years in prison Last summer, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus dismissed the case, citing an improper venue. The state appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court afterward. The Attorney General's Office later filed similar charges in Carson City District Court. Both that case and the appeal to the state supreme court remained ongoing. In a filing Monday, three justices said the high court 'has jurisdiction over an appeal from a district court order granting a motion to dismiss a criminal case.' The justices did not provide any further arguments regarding the specific case other than saying it appears to be a state issue. The court had not scheduled any oral arguments as of Tuesday. Trump won re-election in November against Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 46,000 votes. McDonald and Law served as Republican Party electors in November, signing the state's certificate of ascertainment for Trump's win. Democrats did not hold any meritless ceremonies or submit false paperwork after Harris' loss. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
