A Nevada judge has thrown out yet another so-called “fake electors” case from the 2020 election, ruling Thursday that prosecutors hadn’t proven the six Republicans involved in the matter had any real intent to commit fraud.
The group had signed documents claiming Trump carried the state, gathering outside the legislature in December 2020 to do so in plain view. Among them were state GOP chair Michael McDonald and former Clark County GOP chair Jesse Law, along with four other party figures.
Judge Mary Kay Holthus (non-partisan) pointed out that the defendants never hid what they were doing and that the certificate itself couldn’t legally be accepted or recorded under state or federal law. She concluded there was no reasonable basis to infer they were trying to deceive anyone into treating it as the real thing.
“The fact that Defendants openly announced both their actions and their asserted purpose, rather than concealing their conduct or attempting to secretly induce governmental reliance, weighs against a reasonable inference that they acted with fraudulent intent,” her ruling reads in part.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) has already said his office will appeal the decision, insisting the case should move forward.
🚨A Nevada judge has DISMISSED the yearslong case against six Republicans accused of submitting an alternate 2020 elector certificate declaring Trump the winner.
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) August 14, 2026
Weaponized alternative-elector prosecutions have now also collapsed in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia. pic.twitter.com/SN1Nnqjq9C
Does this feel like déjà vu all over again? If not, it probably should.
Similar efforts in Michigan fell apart when a judge found the same lack of criminal intent. Charges against the 15 "fake electors" were dismissed in 2025 for insufficient evidence of fraudulent intent. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) brought that case.
Then there was:
- Georgia — That sprawling case largely crumbled under its own weight and internal problems. While prosecutors initially secured a handful of guilty pleas from lower-level defendants, the main case against Trump and the remaining co-defendants ultimately collapsed after the district attorney was disqualified and charges were later dropped. That DA, of course, was Fani Willis (D).
- Arizona — Their version has hit repeated procedural walls and is still scrambling to restart. Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) has vowed to take it back to a new grand jury.
- Wisconsin — Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) brought felony forgery charges in 2024 against three Trump campaign advisers and attorneys for their roles in organizing the state’s alternate electors scheme. The case remains pending.
See all of those "Ds" next to the prosecuting attorneys general in these cases? It's odd that Republicans are now being accused of pursuing their political opponents when we've all watched this unfold over the past several years.
Even the remaining cases elsewhere look shaky at best. To summarize, none of the five states that brought charges have fully and successfully prosecuted the core “fake elector” cases to conviction without major setbacks or dismissals of the main charges.
And it's 2026.
After years of headlines and resources poured into these prosecutions, the results keep coming up empty.
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