Judge Throws Out 2020 Elector Fraud Case

The yearslong case against six Nevada Republicans who were accused of submitting a bogus certificate that falsely declared Donald Trump the winner of the state's 2020 presidential election has been dismissed, a judge ruled Thursday. The dismissal is the latest setback in swing states' efforts to prosecute fake electors who tried to keep Trump in the White House after he lost to Joe Biden in 2020, the AP reports. Three other fake elector cases in states have been dismissed.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes recently dismissed her office's criminal case but vowed to bring it back to a grand jury in hopes of securing another indictment. The dismissal was a legal maneuver aimed at getting around a deadline for starting new grand jury proceedings after Mayes lost an appeal earlier in June. The attorney general's office plans to appeal the case. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is also running for governor as a Democrat, brought charges relating to forgery and "offering a false instrument for filing or record" against the six Nevada Republicans, who pleaded not guilty. They include Michael McDonald, the chair of the Nevada Republican Party, and Jesse Law, the former chair of the Clark County Republican Party.

After the 2020 election, the six Republican electors gathered outside the Nevada Legislature to sign a certificate giving the state's six electoral votes to Trump, despite Biden winning the state by more than 30,000 votes. The ceremony was broadcast online, and the video footage was used as evidence in the case. Courts have dismissed similar cases in Michigan and Georgia, and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Those cases ended after Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.