Trump denounced over new election lies

As vote-counting continued in Nevada on Thursday, former President Donald Trump—known for his election lies of 2020—came under fire for baselessly attacking the integrity of the voting system in Clark County.

“Clark County, Nevada, has a corrupt voting system (be careful Adam!), as do many places in our soon to be Third World Country,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, referring to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt, for whom he campaigned.

As of Thursday evening, with 83% of the votes in, Laxalt was leading incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto by less than 16,000 votes, or 49.4% to 47.6%. Their contest, along with the race in Arizona and a runoff in Georgia, will determine which party controls the Senate next year.

Nevada Democratic Party Chair Judith Whitmer swiftly rebuked Trump’s comments in a statement Thursday.

“We absolutely condemn Donald Trump’s inflammatory and untrue statement labeling Nevada’s election count as ‘corrupt,'” she said. “Our election workers shall ensure the counting of every Nevadan’s ballot. Those incredible efforts deserve our respect and support, not baseless attacks from a disgraced ex-president who lost in Nevada twice.”

Whitmer stressed that “we support the Clark County Election Department and the ballot tabulators in every county of our state as they continue their critical work. As eager as we are to learn the final results, we are once again calling for these hardworking Nevadans to be given the courtesy and patience they deserve.”

In a lengthy statement shared on Twitter, Clark County also responded to Trump—who shall likely announce his 2024 campaign for president next week.

“We have heard his outrageous claims, but he is obviously still misinformed about the law and our election processes that ensure the integrity of elections in Clark County,” the statement said before laying out both in detail.

The county also highlighted that its election systems are certified by the state and federal governments, and “there are several state-required audits before, during, and after each election, which further ensure the reliability and integrity of the election.”

The twice-impeached former president—who still clings to his “Big Lie” that he won in 2020—also took aim at Arizona on Thursday, focusing on the GOP candidate he endorsed for governor.

“Arizona even said ‘by the end of the week!'” Trump said. “They want more time to cheat! Kari Lake MUST win!”

Lake was trailing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs 49.6% to 50.4%, with 70% of the votes in, as of late Thursday.

In Arizona’s U.S. Senate race, incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly has 52% of the vote, compared with 46% for Trump-backed Blake Masters.

Trump narrowly lost Arizona to President Joe Biden in 2020. Notably, a so-called “audit” of the results in the state that Trump’s supporters claimed would reveal fraud actually found that Biden won by even more than the official count.

Originally published at Commondreams.org.