Overview
- Judge Mary Kay Holthus dismissed forgery and false‑instrument charges against six Nevada Republicans on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, ruling the record did not support an inference they intended to defraud officials.
- Holthus noted the defendants acted openly when they signed and publicized an alternative electoral certificate, said the certificate could not have been accepted as genuine, and faulted prosecutors for failing to disclose evidence to the grand jury.
- The six defendants include Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald, former Clark County GOP Chair Jesse Law, Vice Chair Jim Hindle, RNC member Jim DeGraffenreid, Shawn Meehan, and Eileen Rice.
- Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said his office will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, a process that could take more than a year and that keeps the dispute tied to Ford’s duties as he runs for governor.
- The ruling follows a string of similar state court setbacks over 2020 alternate‑elector prosecutions and highlights a gap in Nevada law because prosecutors relied on forgery statutes rather than a statute that expressly bars fake‑elector schemes.