Trump campaign sues in Nevada over Las Vegas polling place

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A Nevada judge rejects a request by Donald Trump's campaign to have evidence preserved from an early polling site in Las Vegas where the campaign says polls were allowed to stay open longer than allowed by law.
First-time voter Jeanne Marquez of Nevada poses next to an Elvis Presley-like cardboard cutout at the Meadows Mall in Las Vegas, Nevada. Voters in Clark County voted early at a record pace in this election ahead of the November 8 general election. PHOTO: AFP

NEVADA (REUTERS) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump sued the registrar of voters in Clark County, Nevada over a polling place in Las Vegas that had been allowed to remain open late last week to accommodate people who were lined up to vote.

Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are in a close contest to win Nevada in Tuesday's election after a long and contentious campaign. Nevada is one of several states that permits early voting and Las Vegas is viewed as a base of support for Clinton, a former US Senator from New York and former secretary of state.

Nevada state law says voters who are in line at 8pm, when the polls close, must be allowed to cast their ballots.

The lawsuit, filed in a Nevada state court on Monday, said election officials violated state law because they allowed people to join the line after 8pm at a polling location at a Latino market.

Representatives for Clark County could not immediately be reached for comment. Representatives for the Clinton campaign also could not immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Trump, a New York businessman and reality TV personality who has never previously run for political office, asked that the ballots from that polling place be kept separate from other votes, pending any future legal challenges to the results in the state.

David Bossie, Trump's deputy campaign manager, said on MSNBC that the lawsuit was not aimed at suppressing the Hispanic vote. "This is a lawsuit about the rules of the game," he said.

Speaking about his campaign's lawsuit, Trump said: "We must keep the system honest."

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