Trump poised to sue Nevada claiming voter fraud, says 10,000 votes came from people who no longer live there - reports

Incumbent US President Donald Trump is reportedly suing to stop the vote count in Nevada as the state prepares to release new vote totals. It would be the fifth state targeted by his campaign’s lawyers over fraud allegations.

The lawsuit halting the vote count in Nevada will soon be announced in a press conference in the state by former Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, several news outlets reported on Thursday. Trump’s Twitter feed appeared to confirm the reports — he tweeted “STOP THE COUNT!” in all-caps on Thursday morning as the results of Tuesday’s election remained incomplete.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden led Trump by fewer than 8,000 votes in Nevada as of Thursday morning, with the state expected to release new vote totals later that day. Like many states that were ultimately called for Biden, Nevada initially appeared to go for Trump before slowly turning blue — reportedly the result of counting mail-in votes, which trend toward Democrats. Republicans have claimed that 10,000 “voters” who no longer live in Nevada — whether they’re dead or have moved out of state - have “voted” for Biden, fraudulently swaying the election his way.

If Biden wins Nevada’s six electoral votes, he will have effectively secured the majority he needs to replace Trump as president — though the incumbent has made it clear he’s not going down without a fight. To win the presidency, a candidate must get 270 electoral votes.

While Nevada was not expected to be a “battleground” state in 2020, typically voting Republican, Tuesday’s vote defied most pollsters’ expectations overall, especially those who’d predicted a handy Biden victory. While Trump is lagging behind his rival with just 214 electoral votes to Biden’s 264, the president has denounced what he claims is widespread voter fraud among mail-in ballots, which surged in popularity this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and have largely landed in the Democratic camp.

Nevada isn’t the only state where the Trump campaign has attempted to turn the tide of Biden ballots in the courts. The campaign requested a recount in Wisconsin on Wednesday and has filed lawsuits to halt ballot counting in Michigan and Pennsylvania, arguing Republican poll watchers were not being given adequate access to the process. It also filed suit to mandate Georgia properly handle mail-in ballots after a Republican poll watcher claimed to see a vote counter slip 53 late-postmarked absentee ballots in with valid, on-time mail-in votes on Wednesday.

While the president has declared victory in Pennsylvania, the state has not been officially called for either candidate, though he remains ahead in the unofficial tally. 

Trump supporters have turned out in person to denounce what they claim is election fraud, surrounding vote counting facilities in Nevada, Michigan and Arizona. While Arizona was initially called for Biden, some outlets have argued it’s too soon to tell and predict the state will fall into the president’s column once all the votes are counted.

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