Aug. 14 (UPI) — A judge in Nevada has dismissed forgery charges against six Republicans who falsely claimed to be electors in an effort to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state in 2020, ruling the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence of intent.

“The court concludes the evidence is insufficient to support a reasonable inference that defendants acted with the requisite intent to defraud,” Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus ruled Thursday.

The ruling is the latest setback in protracted litigation seeking to hold the six Republicans accountable for attempting to overturn President Donald Trump’s election loss in 2020.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford initially announced felony charges against the six Republicans in December 2023, accusing them of submitting a false electoral certificate that identified them as Nevada’s legitimate electors and purported to case the state’s six electoral votes for Trump following the 2020 election.

In June 2024, Holthus dismissed the case on venue grounds, which the Nevada Supreme Court reversed.

In her ruling Thursday, Holthus said the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence of fraudulent intent, pointing to the six Republicans publicly announcing their actions, undermining the state’s claim that they sought to deceive government officials.

She also said that Ford and his office failed to present evidence exculpatory evidence.

“Even considering the totality of the evidence before the court, including the evidence identified by defendants as having been omitted from the grand jury proceedings, the record does not support a reasonable inference of fraudulent intent,” she said.

“Indeed, the omitted evidence further reinforces the conclusion that defendants acted openly and consistently with their state purpose of preserving ongoing election challenges, rather than with intent to deceive.”

Ford said in a statement to the Reno Gazette Journal that he intends to appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

“The district court’s decision is, once again, wrong, and we will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, just as we did when the court first dismissed,” he said.

“My office will continue to work to hold these fake electors accountable for their actions, which attempted to undermine our democracy and erode trust in our elections.”

The talk of the new-look high school football season around Southern Nevada will take a back seat when games begin on Friday night.

The official start of the fall sports season was Thursday, but it will feel like the real deal on Friday night with 21 games involving teams from Southern Nevada.

Thirty Clark County School District teams have opted for independent status and will not be eligible to play for an NIAA-sanctioned state championship but instead will compete for the Superintendents Cup.

That leaves a total of seven remaining Class 5A and 4A Southern Region teams to compete for the Open Division, 5A and 4A state titles. That includes Bishop Gorman, which is also looking for a fifth mythical national championship.

Aside from the offseason changes, opening night will present an opportunity for teams to get their seasons started on the right foot.

Here are three things to watch for on the opening week of high school football around Southern Nevada:

1. Out-of-state challenges

CCSD’s move to independence didn’t stop Arbor View and Liberty from scheduling top out-of-state opponents.

Liberty opens its season at Hawaii power Mililani on Friday while Arbor View will play at West (Utah) on Friday. Liberty’s nonleague schedule includes games with Skyridge (Utah) and Tafuna (American Samoa). Arbor View has Carlsbad (California), Hamilton (Arizona) and Lincoln (California) on its nonleague schedule.

Another top team that’s staying in the NIAA, Sloan Canyon, opens its season at home against Central East (California). The Pirates’ opponent is ranked No. 89 nationally by MaxPreps and No. 12 in the state’s California rankings.

2. New coaching debuts

A handful of teams will debut new coaches this fall. The top game with new head coaches is Palo Verde (Dru Smith) and Desert Pines (Rob Robles) at 7 p.m. at Desert Pines.

Smith is a former Bishop Gorman assistant and is just the third head coach in Palo Verde history (Darwin Rost and Joe Aznarez are the other two) as the school celebrates 30 years. Robles is the fourth Desert Pines coach in as many seasons and will look to keep the Jaguars competitive in Division I of the CCSD independent groups.

Other notable first-time head coaches debuting Friday include Brandon Harton (Green Valley, which plays at Foothill), Mandel Anderson (Durango, which hosts Spring Valley), Jeremy Stiles (Bonanza, which plays at Chaparral) and Oscar Loza Hoyos (Western, which hosts Sunrise Mountain).

3. Looking for statement wins

One of the top games Friday night is Faith Lutheran hosting Mater East at 7 p.m.

Faith Lutheran has appeared in three consecutive state title games, but Mater East is looking to be a challenger to Sloan Canyon in the 4A Southern Region. The Knights will get an opening-night test against a solid Faith Lutheran squad.

Mater East lost to Sloan Canyon 50-22 in last year’s 4A Southern Region playoffs. The Knights are led by Desert Pines graduate and former UNLV defensive back Tim Hough, and the team brought in several highly touted transfers that should help the team contend in 4A.

A few other teams are looking for statement wins, including Coronado, who finished 3-7 last year and missed the 5A Southern Region playoffs. Coronado plays at Centennial at 7 p.m. Friday, against a Bulldogs team with several Division I prospectswho won state titles in 2023 and 2024 and reached the 5A Southern Region title game last year.

Sierra Vista and Desert Oasis face off in the “Bell Game.” Sierra Vista beat Desert Oasis 23-16 last year. The rivals are in different CCSD independent divisions – Desert Oasis (Division I) and Sierra Vista (Division II) — but a win could springboard the winner to a run at a Superintendents Cup in their division.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.

Southern Nevada Week 1 prep football schedule

All games at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted

Friday

Green Valley at Foothill, 6 p.m.

Central East (California) at Sloan Canyon, 6 p.m.

Sierra Vista at Desert Oasis, 6 p.m.

Spring Valley at Durango, 6 p.m.

Bonanza at Chaparral, 6 p.m.

Boulder City at Valley, 6 p.m.

Sunrise Mountain at Western, 6 p.m.

Providence Hall (Utah) at Pahrump Valley, 6 p.m.

Arbor View at West (Utah), 6 p.m. PST/7 p.m. MST

Losee at Bishop Gorman

Mater East at Faith Lutheran

Coronado at Centennial

Palo Verde at Desert Pines

Silverado at Legacy

Eldorado at Las Vegas High

Beaver (Utah) at Moapa Valley

Hurricane (Utah) at Virgin Valley

Cadence at The Meadows

Judge Memorial Catholic (Utah) at CIVICA Academy

Parowan (Utah) at Lincoln County

Pahranagat Valley at Indian Springs

Liberty at Mililani (Hawaii) 10 p.m. PST/7 p.m. HST

Saturday

View Point (California) at Lake Mead Academy

Some swing voters might not be quick to reject socialist political candidates.

NPR observed two online focus groups of Nevada voters on Tuesday night, and 10 of the 12 participants said they wouldn’t automatically think negatively of a politician who identifies with the left-wing ideology. The voters, who supported Joe Biden in 2020 and then cast ballots for Donald Trump in 2024, had a mix of political affiliations — six self-described independents, four Republicans and two Democrats.

“I don’t just take one thing and then label or judge somebody just for that,” said Jasmine, a 33-year-old independent voter. (The participants agreed to take part in the focus groups on the condition that their last names would not be used.) “I need to just get to know them completely before I make a judgment or a decision on who I’m going to vote for.”

Melody, a 37-year-old independent, added: “I wouldn’t immediately think bad of someone. I would want to talk a little bit more about it with them because … to me, they’re at least trying to think of a solution where everybody has rights and everybody has food, everybody has a house, everybody has a job. They’re at least looking for something like that for everyone.”

The focus group participants offered their opinions on Tuesday, during the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, which a self-described democratic socialist narrowly lost. There’s a debate in the Democratic Party about whether recent wins by democratic socialist candidates will spell trouble with more centrist voters come November.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about a third of Democratic voters view democratic socialist leaders positively and that a plurality of all Americans neither like nor dislike democratic socialist politicians.

Focus groups are not scientifically significant like polls, but they do provide insight into what voters are thinking and feeling about certain issues. These focus groups were held by messaging firm Engagious and marketing research group Nelson Recruiting. NPR partners with them each month as part of the Swing Voter Project.

Rich Thau, the president of Engagious, moderated both focus groups Tuesday. He said he was surprised that so many of these swing voters, who he said “tend to be attracted to more centrist political positions,” said they would not automatically think negatively about a candidate who identified as a socialist.