Court Challenge
In June 2012, anticipating a close race in Nevada during the 2012 presidential elections, the Republican National Committee challenged the constitutionality of the option. Fearing that the option would siphon votes from the Republican nominee, the RNC claimed that the option is not constitutional because if "None of these Candidates" received the most votes, it would not win the election.
The Nevada Attorney General, on behalf of the Secretary of State of Nevada, argued that the option is a protest vote intended to send a message and whose outcome is no different from not voting at all. On August 22, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jones agreed with the plaintiffs and struck down the law allowing the option as unconstitutional. He refused to issue a stay of execution pending the outcome of an appeal, meaning the ban on this option would be immediate.
On September 4, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an emergency stay against the district court's order. The emergency stay bars the implementation of Judge Jones's injunction until the Ninth Circuit can hear an appeal. In the emergency stay order, the Ninth Circuit noted that printing of ballots must begin by September 7; as it is unlikely that the appeal will be concluded before that date, the ballots for the 2012 elections will continue to contain the "none of these candidates" option.
Read more about this topic: None Of These Candidates
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