Nevada high court gets fast-track filings in election case

LAS VEGAS — Attorneys for Democrats are deriding as “reckless” and “lacking any legal basis” a state Supreme Court appeal by the Donald Trump campaign aimed at nullifying President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral win in Nevada. “If the will of the voters is reasonably in doubt due to legal problems with the election process,” Trump campaign attorneys Shana Weir and Jesse Binnall wrote, “nullifying the doubtful election result actually ensures government by consent and the right to vote.” Lawyers representing the Nevada and national Democratic parties argue there is no doubt of the results and the election is decided. “After weeks of frivolous lawsuits to undo the expressed will of the people,” they wrote, “Nevadans deserve finality and assurance that neither contestants nor anyone else — including the candidate they represent — can threaten their wholesale disenfranchisement.” The competing filings came on a fast-track appeal to the state high court, where one of the seven justices, Elissa Cadish, already disqualified herself from hearing the case due to an unspecified relationship with appeal participants. Weir and Binnall demanded Justice James Hardesty also recuse himself for publicly praising Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske on Nov. 24, saying she carried out what the justice called “an extraordinarily successful election.” Hardesty’s comments came as the Supreme Court certified that Biden won the state by 33,596 votes, or nearly 2.4% of the 1.4 million votes cast.