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Nevada Republicans lose legal fight over mail ballots

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Nevada Republicans lose legal fight over mail ballots


On Wednesday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by national and Nevada state Republicans that aimed to bar the state from counting mail ballots received up to four days after Election Day.

The case, brought by the Republican National Committee (RNC), the Nevada Republican Party, and former President Donald Trump’s campaign, alleged that Nevada’s electoral law violates federal law and gives Democrats an unfair advantage.

In the order filed Wednesday, the court stated, “Plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the Nevada mail ballot receipt deadline and dismisses this case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.”

Nevada’s current electoral law, passed by Democrats in 2021, allows election officials to tally ballots received by 5 p.m. on November 9, as long as they are postmarked by November 5, Election Day. If the envelopes are not clearly postmarked, they must be received by 5 p.m. three days after the election.

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The judge wrote, “The causal link between counting mail ballots received after Election Day in Nevada and Organizational Plaintiffs’ alleged electoral injuries is too speculative to support standing.”

Newsweek reached out to the Nevada Secretary of State, Republican National Committee, Nevada Republican Party, and Trump’s campaign for comment via email on Wednesday night.

The Republican-backed case argued that Democrats are more likely to vote by mail and to vote later, making them more likely to cast mail ballots received after Election Day.

“Even if the first two points have been adequately pled—which is not altogether clear—it does not necessarily follow that mail ballots arriving after Election Day will skew Democratic,” the judge wrote, adding, “And even if later-arriving mail ballots have favored Democrats past elections, it is far from guaranteed that Nevada voters will behave similarly this November.”

In a statement to the Associated Press (AP), Claire Zunk, the RNC’s Election Integrity spokesperson, maintained that the post-Election Day mail ballot deadline still breaks federal law and that “a liberal judge unjustifiably dismissed our case.”

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“We are committed to protecting the ballot, and we will pursue further legal action in this case,” Zunk added.

The legal move comes just under four months before Election Day in a key swing state that President Joe Biden narrowly won by 33,500 votes in 2020 against former President Donald Trump. The state carries 6 Electoral College votes.

Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump in Nevada, according to a YouGov/The Times/SAY poll of 800 registered voters in the state. The poll, which was conducted between July 4 and July 12, found Trump leading by 4 percentage points, 46 percent to 42 percent. The survey has a margin of error of 4.7 percent, which places Biden in a neck-and-neck tie in the state.

Biden has been in the state since Monday, speaking at the NAACP annual conference yesterday. He was scheduled to address the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, UnidosUS, this afternoon before testing positive for COVID-19 and self-isolating.

A pair of ballot drop boxes for voted mail ballots are displayed in a Clark County vote center on Election Day during the Nevada 2024 presidential primary election in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 6,…


PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.



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Nevada

28-year-old inmate at Southern Nevada prison dies

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28-year-old inmate at Southern Nevada prison dies


A man serving time at the Southern Desert Correctional Center for felony reckless driving died last month, the Nevada Department of Corrections said Tuesday.

Shiloh Walker, 28, died at the Indian Springs facility on Nov. 24, a news release said. Cause of death was not listed.

Walker was serving a sentence of up to six years after a plea agreement was reached in 2022 following a DUI crash that happened May 31, 2021 in Las Vegas, according to online court records.

An autopsy was requested following Walker’s death, though results were not available as of Monday evening. Attempts to reach Walker’s family members have been unsuccessful, according to the department.

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Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.



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Is USPS breaking vow not to use Sacramento for Northern Nevada mail?

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Is USPS breaking vow not to use Sacramento for Northern Nevada mail?


After widespread condemnation last year, the U.S. Postal Service backed away from plans to move its Reno mail-processing operations to Sacramento — but did it stay true to what it told the public?

The question arose recently after letters sent from one Carson City address to another in Carson City were both postmarked in Sacramento.

Northern Nevadans did not want first class mail sent from one Northern Nevada address to another going first to California. They sent a unified message to the USPS all the way up to the postmaster general.

Critics of the USPS plan were especially worried about delays from mail having to go back and forth over the Sierra during winter.

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The Washoe County District Attorney’s office filed a lawsuit over the plan, the Washoe County Commission voted to oppose the plan, public comment was universally opposed, and Democratic and Republican elected officials from across the state joined to stop it.

Could it possibly have happened anyway? The answer is yes, temporarily, for a brief time.

How letters sent in Carson City came to be processed at Sacramento USPS facility

A reader told the Reno Gazette Journal they’d twice had letters internal to Carson City postmarked in Sacramento, so we asked USPS if the policy had changed.

“Mail processing for First Class mail that originates in Northern Nevada and is destined to Northern Nevada has not changed,” USPS spokesperson Sherry Patterson responded by email.

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“However,” she added, “without the specific mail piece and class of mail, we cannot determined if there is an issue.”

The reader then supplied a photo of the two envelopes postmarked Nov. 5 in Sacramento, and this was shared with USPS.

“Our processing machine in Reno was temporarily out of service while we awaited a replacement part,” Patterson said after viewing the postmarks to nail down the specific date the letters went through Sacramento.

“To ensure that mail was not delayed during this time, we implemented a contingency plan that involved routing certain mail to our Sacramento facility for cancellation and processing. This measure allows us to maintain service continuity and minimize disruptions for our customers. We understand that this may cause some confusion, and we are committed to ensuring that all mail is processed efficiently and accurately.”

Bottom line: Regarding first class mail that’s being sent to and from Northern Nevada addresses, it’s still USPS policy to process that in Reno at its Vassar Street facility, she said.

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The path these particular letters took, Patterson added, “is indeed an unusual occurrence.”

Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.



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Holiday loneliness affects thousands in Nevada as many face Christmas away from loved ones

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Holiday loneliness affects thousands in Nevada as many face Christmas away from loved ones


LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Loneliness has become a significant health issue for people everywhere, and the holiday season sometimes intensifies those feelings. For many, December looks like family gatherings, matching pajamas and bustling homes. But this time of year can also be very difficult for those who may be battling distance, work commitments or recent life changes.

Marc Valli, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, has lived in Las Vegas since 1988. He moved to Nevada to join a ministry and be closer to his wife’s parents.

WATCH| Shellye Leggett talks to an army vet who’s recently moved into Escalante at the Lakes assisted living facility

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Holiday loneliness affects thousands in Nevada as many face Christmas away from loved ones

“I wanted to come and join ministry here. Also my wife’s parents lived here,” Valli said.

Valli’s wife Barbara, known to friends and family as Bobby, passed away in 2018 after 54 years of marriage.

“I’m still counting the years. We’ve been married 54 years,” he said.

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His children moved him into Escalante at the Lakes assisted living facility in June, making this his first holiday season in his new home.

“People are very nice, they treat you good,” Valli said.

Come Christmas Day, the facility’s common room will be filled with residents ready for holiday activities, but Valli hopes to get outside these walls to see his family that still lives nearby.

“I have grandkids. One goes to Cal Poly. He’s here right now, but he’s on vacation, and then I have two little granddaughters, one’s 11, one’s 7,” Valli said. “I don’t know if they’re gonna come for Christmas or I’m going there.”

Gus Farias, the executive director of Escalante at the Lakes Assisted Living, says many of his residents don’t have family nearby. Keeping their spirits high throughout the holidays is an important task.

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“We can tell when our residents are feeling down. There’s a lot of pressure during the holidays because some of our residents don’t have families that are nearby, but they have us,” Farias said.

The organisation A Mission for Michael released a study showing just how many people are expected to spend the holidays alone this year. Nevada ranked 43rd on the list of loneliest states, with more than 212,000 people expected to spend Christmas by themselves.

“It’s pretty surprising that there’s so many Nevadans that are gonna spend the holidays by themselves,” Farias said.

He says combating loneliness will take a community effort.

“When you’re at the grocery store or whatever, reach, look back and ask them, you know, wish them a merry Christmas or happy holidays and ask them how they passed their holidays in the past because we, we as a younger generation than our seniors, we can learn a lot from that,” Farias said.

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It’s an effort that Valli says makes the holidays a little brighter.

“Oh, it makes a big difference,” he said.





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