LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Clark County District Court Judge Gloria Sturman has denied Congressional candidate Jim Marchant's request for a re-vote in the county in his race against Rep. Steven Horsford for Congressional District 4.
Marchant's attorney Craig Mueller, asking the judge for a new election. He raised concerns about the mail ballot voting process and says he had affidavits from witnesses claiming they saw improper votes being counted and also raised concerns about the signature verification machine.
“Mr. Gloria playing I’ve got a secret with the vote counting. That’s a different discussion and now all of the evils that were projected have occurred and are documented," he said.
However, attorneys for Clark County and the Nevada Democrats say the allegations of fraud and improper voting were erroneous and baseless. They also argued some allegations had already been litigated and rejected in court.
“He cites various statutes that have to do with voting machines. The Aegilis machine is not a voting machine. It sorts ballots. It puts them into batches. For further handling by the election department," Mary Anne Miller, Clark County counsel, said.
REPLAY THE HEARING HERE:
Judge Sturman claimed that her court "Does not have jurisdiction over this action at all” partially because Congressional District 4 spans seven counties. Her biggest concern was that the request was to only re-vote for one county.
“We are leaving out the other six counties. I appreciate those other six counties voting overwhelmingly for Mr. Marchant, but we are leaving out six other counties in an election for a congressional seat," she said.
“I've been cited no authority that would allow us to do that," Sturman said.
Marchant lost to Horsford by 16,173 votes (5% difference) according to results tabulated by the state. Horsford won in Clark County by a margin of 33,143.
After the hearing was completed, Marchant's attorney Craig Mueller told KTNV's Jeremy Chen that his team is looking at additional legal avenues for the case after today's ruling.
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