Donald Trump Nevada lawsuit asking for thousands of votes to be thrown out rejected

Case is 'disturbing', judge says

Andrew Griffin
Tuesday 08 November 2016 20:59 GMT
Comments
A toddler looks on as people vote in the 2016 Presidential elections at the Alton City Hall on November 8, 2016 in Alton, Illinois
A toddler looks on as people vote in the 2016 Presidential elections at the Alton City Hall on November 8, 2016 in Alton, Illinois

Donald Trump's attempt to have thousands of election votes in Nevada thrown out has failed.

The suit claimed that some of the state's polling places had stayed open as much as two hours later than they should have, in order to allow more people to vote. Those votes could be central to the result in Nevada, which is a swing state key to any potential victory by Mr Trump.

If successful, the lawsuit would have asked that records of thousands of early votes would be discounted. But the judge said that the case was "disturbing to me" and make clear that she was "not doing it".

Long lines kept polls open past the 7 p.m. posted closing time at locations that included a Mexican market and several shopping centers. Officials say at one site, the last voter cast a ballot after 10 p.m.

The case could be just the first of a range of potential lawsuits, since Mr Trump is expected to challenge results that don't go his way if they are close.

State Republican Party chief Michael McDonald had criticised the decision to leave voting open for longer than had been expected, suggesting that it had been done to allow hispanic people to vote.

"Last night, in Clark County, they kept a poll open until 10 o'clock at night so a certain group could vote," Mr McDonald said at a Sunday rally for Trump. "The polls are supposed to cose at seven. This was kept open until 10. Yeah, you feel free right now? You think this is a free and easy election? That's why it's important."

But Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign is dismissing the Nevada case in a Twitter message, calling it "a frivolous lawsuit."

More follows

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in