Nevada Clark County “Signature Verification Board” Challenge

Lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) against Clark County, the Clark County Elections Department and the Clark County registrar requesting an emergency writ of mandamus (a court order compelling a party to take a certain action) to compel Clark County to add more Republican members to its “signature verification board,” a group of “temporary staff” hired by the county to assist with the signature verification process in response to an anticipated influx of mail-in ballots. Despite the fact that a district court already rejected this request and ruled that “it is a big stretch to classify temporary employees as board members on a board that the County Registrar never created,” the RNC alleges that the “signature verification board disproportionately excludes Republicans” in violation of Nevada law and asks the state Supreme Court to step in. The plaintiffs request that the court order the Clark County registrar to “hir[e] and schedul[e] an equal number of political parties to serve on the signature verification board, including Republicans.”

On Nov. 8, the Nevada Supreme Court rejected the RNC’s request, deeming that Nevada law “contains no requirement that a board verify the signatures” and that the RNC “has not demonstrated a clear legal right to the relief requested.”

Last updated: January 3, 2023 1:51 pm EST