Attorney General Ford Issues Statement After Win in Nevada Supreme Court Regarding Mail Ballot Counting

Carson City, NV - Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford issued the following statement after the Office of the Attorney General won a case in the Nevada Supreme Court confirming that ballots received up to three days after Election Day can be counted if a postmark date is indiscernible.

"Today's win is a victory for democracy and Nevadans' right to vote by mail," said AG Ford. "I am pleased the Nevada Supreme Court upheld this reasonable statute, which protects Nevadans' right to vote from United States Postal Service error. Lawsuits like this are designed to sow distrust in Nevada's electoral process, which is free, fair and protected against bad actors. There has never been evidence of any mass voter fraud in Nevada, and this lawsuit was another bad faith attempt to restrict Nevadans' ability to vote."

Under Nevada statute, a mail ballot that is received no later than 5 p.m. on the third day after Election Day where a postmark date cannot be determined will be deemed to have been posted by Election Day.

The Republican National Committee and the campaign of former President Donald Trump filed suit to stop the counting of ballots without a postmark that arrived three days after Election Day, where Nevadans who drop their mail ballots in mailboxes have no control over whether or how the United States Postal Service postmarks them. The Nevada Supreme Court unanimously upheld an August decision by District Court Judge James Russell denying injunctive relief against the legal counting of such votes.

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