9th Circuit junks GOP lawsuit challenging Nevada’s mail ballot grace period

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals tossed a Republican lawsuit challenging Nevada’s grace period for late mail ballots Friday, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Watson v. Republican National Committee. 

The ruling puts an end to a challenge first brought in 2024 that would have made it more difficult for Nevadans to be certain their mail ballots will be counted. 

Ahead of that year’s presidential election, the Republican National Committee (RNC), President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Nevada Republican Party sought to invalidate a Nevada law allowing tardy ballots to still count if they arrived within four days after Election Day. U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Mai Du, a Barack Obama appointee, quickly dismissed the case, saying the GOP groups lacked standing. 

The Republicans appealed soon after, but the 9th Circuit ended up pausing the litigation after the Supreme Court agreed to hear Watson. The Court handed down a 5-4 decision in June that rejected the RNC’s argument that the federal statutes setting a date for elections prevented states from accepting ballots after that day.

In Friday’s decision, a three judge panel ended the GOP’s Nevada appeal because the underlying legal question is now settled in Nevada’s favor. 

“By their own admission, Plaintiffs have not suffered any ‘actual or threatened injury,’ as a result of the district court’s dismissal order and, therefore, they do not have standing to maintain this appeal,” the judges wrote in a short, three-page opinion. 

In addition to Nevada and Mississippi, the Watson decision has led to victories in mail ballot grace period lawsuits in California, Illinois and Kansas. 

*Intervenors in Watson were represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.