Dagusen, RNC, Nevada Republican Party, and Trump For President, v. Aguilar, DNC, and Nevada Democratic Party.

In this lawsuit, the Republican National Committee, Nevada State Republican Party, Trump’s presidential campaign, and one individual voter challenged the Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar to restructure Nevada’s voter registration system less than 55 days before the 2024 general election. The Plaintiffs also named the Democratic National Committee and Nevada State Democratic Party as Defendants.

The complaint, filed on September 11, 2024, baselessly alleges that thousands of noncitizens are listed on the official Nevada voter roll and have cast ballots in previous elections. Plaintiffs claim that DMV records do not match the current statewide registration system, but Plaintiffs do not account for the fact that many non-citizens lawfully obtain drivers’ licenses and then become naturalized citizens and voters before their licenses expire. Plaintiffs also cite to outdated reports and unsupported anecdotes of noncitizen registration in other states to support their demand that Secretary Aguilar solicit from state and federal agencies citizenship information and clear out the list before the November election.

On October 31, 2024, the NAACP Tri-State Conference of Idaho-Nevada-Utah moved to intervene to protect its members from Plaintiffs’ eleventh-hour attempt to disenfranchise voters right on the eve of a critical election. The Tri-State NAACP’s members are among the thousands of Nevadans who each year become naturalized citizens, but whose citizenship status is not regularly updated with the DMV.

Nevada law already requires voters to verify their citizenship status. Several mechanisms exist to ensure that only eligible voters cast a ballot, leading Plaintiffs’ complaint void of any pattern establishing noncitizen voting in Nevada. And while the DMV automatically registers to vote applicants who are U.S. citizens, it does not register those who use foreign documents for proof of identity. There is no evidence of widespread noncitizen voter activity in Nevada or anywhere in the United States.

It is unlawful to remove eligible voters from the official voter registration list. Furthermore, systemic mass purging of voter rolls is prohibited within 90 days of an election. The threatened mass purging of naturalized citizens from the voter rolls, or any eligible voter with a constitutionally guaranteed right to vote, creates fear and uncertainty about eligibility and intimidates voters from participating in Nevada elections.

Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump, Vance, and aligned groups have been circulating the myth of a “stolen election” and the lie that noncitizens vote in federal elections. They do so without evidence and in a bid to deprive thousands of lawful voters the opportunity to vote and to vote without fear or intimidation. Now, they are abusing judicial and election official resources by demanding court-ordered voter suppression and voter intimidation immediately prior to the 2024 general election. Similar lawsuits have been filed in multiple states across the country, all seeking unlawful and unconstitutional voter roll purges, and all of which are aimed at intimidating voters and election officials.

Free Speech For People is proud to represent with Mayer Brown LLP the Tri-State NAACP in this matter, along with local counsel Woodburn and Wedge.