A lawsuit challenging the voter rolls in Washoe County, Nevada, has been dismissed with prejudice. The case was initiated by the Citizen Outreach Foundation and aimed to remove over 11,000 voters from the rolls. This action prompted intervention from the ACLU of Nevada and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The lawsuit’s dismissal means that voters in Washoe County can participate in the upcoming November election without fear of being unjustly removed or disenfranchised. Federal law prohibits large-scale voter purges within 90 days of an election, and Nevada law requires challenges to voter residency to be based on personal knowledge—criteria not met by the Petitioners.
Athar Haseebullah, executive director of ACLU of Nevada, commented: “This case was an alarming attempt to disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters, but Nevadans’ voting rights are not up for grabs. This outcome protects voters who were directly targeted by this challenge, including ACLU of Nevada members.”
Sadmira Ramic, a voting rights attorney with ACLU of Nevada, stated: “The improper challenges brought by the Petitioners based solely on unreliable data would have jeopardized participation of thousands of eligible voters in the upcoming election.”
Jonathan Topaz from the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project added: “This is a great victory for Nevada voters. Mere weeks before a presidential election, one outside group tried to remove tens of thousands of registered voters in Washoe County in violation of state and federal law.”
The dismissal ensures that efforts to undermine voting rights will be met with direct intervention from organizations like the ACLU.
