Las Vegas man sentenced for voting twice in 2020 election

A Nevada man who pleaded guilty last year to voting once in Las Vegas and again 10 days later in a small Arizona town could face up to 36 months in prison if he violates the terms of his probation. 

A Nevada resident has been convicted for casting multiple ballots during the 2020 election, according to state officials who still maintain that there was no meaningful widespread fraud in that year’s presidential election. 

Mark White, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty last year to one count of attempting to vote more than once in the same election, a category E felony, and was sentenced to 18 months probation, according to a joint release issued Tuesday by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar. White could face up to 36 months in prison if he violates the terms of his probation. 

Officials say White participated in the state’s early voting period and cast a ballot in-person at the Whitney Community Center on Oct. 18, 2020. Ten days later, White attempted to cast another vote at a location in Kingman, Arizona. 

The case was investigated by the Secretary of State’s office, and was prosecuted by Matthew Rashbrook, the attorney general’s special prosecutor for consumer protection and fraud. 

“As I have repeatedly and consistently said, we will prosecute any credible allegations of voter fraud that are uncovered,” Ford said in a statement. “Voter fraud undercuts trust in our institutions and is a direct attack on our system of democracy.” 

Despite claims made by President-elect Donald Trump that endemic, widespread voter fraud was the reason he lost his 2020 re-election bid, voter fraud in actuality is incredibly rare. Audits and canvasses in several locales where voter fraud was alleged in 2020 have routinely found no widespread evidence of voter fraud. 

A report from Aguilar’s office published last April found just 146 potential cases of fraud stemming from the 2022 general election — roughly 0.0001% of the 1,023,617 ballots cast. 

“Nevada runs some of the most secure elections in the country, and that means investigating any potential instances of fraud,” Aguilar said in a release. “I’m grateful to the law enforcement officers in the Secretary of State’s office for all of their effort on elections cases, and to the Attorney General’s Office for showing what happens when you try to undermine our democracy.” 

Since 2020, Nevada has primarily conducted its elections by utilizing mail voting. Lawmakers in 2021 passed a bill establishing universal mail voting, meaning each of the state’s registered voters are mailed a ballot to their address on file.