“Nevada has the worst system of election in the country, where they mail ballots to everybody, even if they don't ask,” says attorney J. Christian Adams, president of Public Interest Legal Foundation.
Because ballots are mailed to voters per Nevada law, Adams and PILF filed legal papers in June demanding an investigation into approximately 90 Clark County businesses – bars, strip clubs, vacant lots, and fast-food restaurants – where a ballot is showing up in the mail.
Clark County, home to 2.3 million people, encompasses Las Vegas.
PILF is also demanding a similar investigation of 48 addresses in Washoe County, which includes Reno and is Nevada's second largest county.
In a court ruling last week, a judge dismissed the case against Lorena Portillo, Clark County's registrar of voters, after her office told the court it has investigated PILF’s allegations as the watchdog group requested.
Adams and PILF agreed to dropped the lawsuit after Portillo shared the results of the Clark County investigation: 16 addresses had previously been identified and the voters deactivated; 12 addresses had no voters; four addresses indicated voters had updated their registration; one address was a typo.
Among the other commercial addresses, Portillo’s office said 29 were confirmed as a voter’s actual residence and 19 more require more research.
Portillo, who had previously filed a motion to dismiss the case, stated in that motion Nevada law allows voters to receive a ballot at a commercial address if it is also their residence.
PILF is now attempting to obtain those Clark County voting records to conduct its own investigation.
Senate election decided by slim margin
Across the entire state, PILF has being raising concerns since 2020 about 1,000-plus commercial addresses that could be used to commit voter fraud.
Joe Biden officially won Nevada in 2020, defeating Donald Trump 50%-48%, a difference of approximately 33,600 votes.
Hillary Clinton narrowly won Nevada in 2016, defeating Trump by approximately 26,400 votes.
Citing official voting data from the 2022 midterm elections, Adams and PILF have pointed out 95,556 ballots were mailed to undeliverable addresses across the state during that election.
On that ballot two years ago, a close U.S. Senate race was decided by less than 8,000 votes, when Republican challenger Adam Laxalt lost to Democrat incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto.
