Nevada Republican Party sends criminal referral to DOJ alleging thousands of cases of voter fraud

The Nevada Republican Party announced Thursday evening that it has sent a criminal referral to U.S. Attorney General William Barr with allegations that the state had 3,602 cases of voter fraud. 

The criminal complaint comes as news outlets have yet to announce a projected winner in the race between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, with the Trump campaign and the GOP having already filed multiple unsuccessful legal challenges in the Southwestern state. 

“Our lawyers just sent a criminal referral to AG Barr regarding at least 3,062 instances of voter fraud,” the Nevada Republican Party wrote in a tweet. “We expect that number to grow substantially. Thousands of individuals have been identified who appear to have violated the law by casting ballots after they moved from NV.” 

Our lawyers just sent a criminal referral to AG Barr regarding at least 3,062 instances of voter fraud. We expect that number to grow substantially. Thousands of individuals have been identified who appear to have violated the law by casting ballots after they moved from NV.

— Nevada GOP (@NVGOP) November 6, 2020

The Washington Post reported that the party’s lawyers sent Barr a list of voters identified by cross-checking voter registration names and addresses with the National Change of Address database.

Nevada law allows residents to cast ballots after moving out of state if they are serving in the military, a spouse of someone in the military or attending school. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada pointed out in a tweet Thursday following the criminal referral announcement that voters in the state do not lose their eligibility to vote when they leave the state temporarily.

“The ACLU of Nevada is watching to be sure this election remains fair and we are prepared to fight if any serious cases are filed,” Nikki Levy, a Nevada ACLU staff attorney, wrote in the tweeted statement. 

Since there’s been misinformation from campaigns, let’s set the record straight.
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​#LetNevadansVote #Nevada #2020 pic.twitter.com/WR79oFcRSf

— ACLU of Nevada (@ACLUNV) November 6, 2020

Earlier Thursday, Joe Gloria, Clark County’s registrar of voters, told the Post while responding to questions about potential voter fraud that he would investigate any incident reported to him. 

“We’re firm in our commitment to making sure that we’re processing ballots with high integrity,” he said.

Gloria also said Thursday that the bulk of ballots in Clark County would likely be counted by the weekend, adding that the processing of ballots will not be complete until Nov. 12. 

A Justice Department official, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity to discuss a move that could lead to an investigation, confirmed that the department had received the referral and that officials were “looking into it.” 

The Trump campaign has filed several lawsuits in Nevada as the state continues to process an influx of mail-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

On Thursday, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit alleging that Nevada votes have been cast by deceased people and nonresidents. The campaign also threatened to file a federal lawsuit to stop the counting of “improper” votes.