Elections

Nevada judge refuses to give order sought by Trump campaign in improper voting suit

Trump campaign files election lawsuit in Nevada
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Trump campaign files election lawsuit in Nevada

A Nevada judge refused to issue an immediate order Tuesday sought by Donald Trump's campaign in a lawsuit claiming a Nevada county improperly kept some polling locations open on Friday, the last night of early voting.

The Republican presidential candidate's campaign wanted Clark County to preserve voting machines and ballots from some Las Vegas voting sites in case they wanted to contest them later. Clark County Judge Gloria Sturman said the campaign failed to exhaust administrative remedies for its concerns, adding that those records are already preserved by law.

She also said that issuing the order could potentially make poll workers' identities public and open them up to harassment.

The suit, filed in state court, claimed some polling places stayed open later than initially intended. It also alleged that some people who were not in line when polls closed were able to vote. Nevada law allows people already waiting when the polls close to cast ballots.

That type of lawsuit is not unusual in presidential elections.

Multiple reports have said Nevada, a key battleground state, saw a strong early voter turnout among Latinos, who largely favored Trump's rival Hillary Clinton in most surveys leading up to the election.

Trump and allies have claimed they expect to see voting misconduct on Tuesday, but serious irregularities are historically rare.

In a statement Tuesday, Clark County said "most if not all" of its voting locations had lines as the schedule closing times passed. It said those locations "continued processing voters until the lines were gone."

A spokesman for the Nevada Republican Party said his group is not a party to the lawsuit, but said it's not that unusual.

"We are hoping for a smooth process today, and so far it looks like that's happening," he said.

Trump stood by the lawsuit in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.

Said Trump: "I have great representatives in Nevada, and a lot of other places, and they felt it was a pretty bad situation out there. We have to keep the system honest."

Reporting by NBC News and CNBC's Jane Wells.