[ad_1]
Virginia City, Nev. (AP) – Nearly two years after he signed documents attempting to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020 nevadaJim Hindley thanked everyone gathered in the commission chambers of the historic Nevada boomtown and asked them to join him as he learned how to monitor elections in rural Story County.
Hindle was another replacement for what was Turnstile of County Election Officials Throughout Nevada as the 2022 midterms approach. He removed the interim clerk from the position, who came in after the previous clerk resigned.
But Hindley’s tenure in the heavily Republican county is part of a trend in battleground states fake voter Has retained its influence on the elections to be held in 2024.
Hindle and others, who are scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, Coordinated directly with Trump’s teamAccording to a transcript of testimony before the US House committee investigating the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
political cartoon
Hindley told The Associated Press that he would continue to contest local elections despite the allegations. He declined to comment further.
wisconsinArizona and Pennsylvania also have fraudulent voters involved in the 2024 election.
List includes bob spindell, who remains on Wisconsin’s bipartisan Elections Commission despite calls from Democrats to remove him. A Republican legislative leader who appointed Spindell said last week that he would not rescind the appointment, calling the fraudulent voter scheme a “failed legal strategy” and “not some sinister plot to overturn the election.”
Spindell and fake voters in Wisconsin agreed on a agreement Admitting this month that his actions were “part of an effort to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results.”
In Arizona, fake voters Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern are Republican legislators with powerful roles. Hoffman is chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, and Kern leads the Judiciary Committee. The Arizona Attorney General is investigating the role of fraudulent voters; No one has been charged.
Hoffman’s position makes him the gatekeeper for almost all election-related legislation under consideration. This has been particularly controversial in western swing states where Republicans have been aggressive in trying to cast doubt on or overturn Democratic victories.
The FBI interviewed Sam DeMarco, a member of the three-member elections board in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in 2022. Despite subpoenas served to DeMarco and other GOP electors from that state, they faced no legal consequences after their electoral votes were qualified as “conditional” in case Trump prevailed in court. DeMarco has often been critical of Trump’s influence on the state party.
michigan This is a rare example where a fake voter has lost influence due to allegations. In July, the Michigan Elections Bureau Barred Shelby Township Clerk Stan Groat Criminal charges were filed against him and 15 other Republicans for their role as fraudulent voters.
In Nevada, Story County’s 3,750 active registered voters represent a small portion of the state’s voters. Even if Hindley and others remain in their roles as election officials and legislators, state election officials and state and federal courts can provide checks on their authority, said Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. .
The office of Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, which runs elections statewide, did not respond to questions about whether the indictment could affect Hindley’s election role.
But Hindle’s influence doesn’t stop at the county line. She is one of three fraudulent voters involved in the organization of the state GOP’s party-run caucus in early February, scheduled just days after the state-run presidential primary. Nevada has fallen to the GOP thorough investigation For are confusing the voters With dueling elections and adoption of rules Many people say this will benefit Trump above other Republican candidates.
The Nevada GOP did not respond to a request for comment on whether the indictment impacts members’ abilities to organize caucuses.
Nevada Republican Chairman Michael McDonald, one of the convicted fraudulent voters, has said the state party is bypassing the primary because the Democratic-controlled legislature will not consider the Republican governor’s proposals for a voter ID requirement and other measures. Did.
On Sunday, several fraudulent voters from Nevada attended Trump’s rally in Reno, where the former president personally thanked three of them, including Hindle and McDonald. Was treated unfairly. He did not mention specific allegations.
McDonald introduced Trump at the rally, while also encouraging the crowd to advocate and vote for Trump in the party-run caucuses. He ended his speech with the same pledge that he had made At a rally in October, Before his arraignment.
He said, “You give us a fair election, I’ll give you Donald J. Trump, the next President of the United States.”
Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan and Mark Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania contributed to this report.
Stern is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. report for usa is a program that places journalists in local newsrooms. X, formerly Follow Stern on Twitter: @gabestern326,
Copyright 2023 The associated Press, All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link