Justice probes Trump campaign claims of vote irregularities, could include military vote in Nevada

Prior to Attorney General William Barr's recently issued memo authorizing federal prosecutors across the U.S. to investigate potential cases of voter fraud, the Justice Department had already begun probing two allegations of voting irregularities.

One allegation, from President Trump's campaign, was that thousands of individuals may have improperly voted in the election. And the other, was a statement from a postal worker in Pennsylvania that a postmaster had issued instructions to backdate mail-in ballots even after Election Day.

Despite pending lawsuits filed by members of the Trump campaign and its allies alleging serious instances of voter fraud in key battleground states, Joe Biden continues to lead Trump by tens of thousands of votes in states including Nevada and Pennsylvania.

Since late last week, affiliates of the Trump campaign have alleged that they identified thousands of individuals who improperly cast votes in Clark County, Nevada. Campaign attorneys sent the Justice Department a letter describing what they've discovered. But now, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is arguing that many names on the list are voters related to the U.S. military, according to the Associated Press.

Nevada election law requires an individual to live in the state for at least 30 days prior to an election in order to register to vote there. However, voters who travel away from the state, even for extended periods of time, do not forfeit their ability to vote there. 

"You don’t have to live here in order to be eligible to vote here. This is a military town," said Joe Gloria, the Clark County Registrar of Voters. Gloria says his office is reviewing the list of names provided by the Trump campaign, but said that the campaign's allegations describe "something that happens regularly."

The Nellis Air Force Base in northeast Las Vegas is home to many Nevada residents who are periodically stationed elsewhere for long periods of time but vote in Nevada. The same applies to students who travel away for college but vote in their home state. 

It is unclear how many of the names on the list provided to Justice by the Trump administration are military families and/or college students who retain the right to vote in Nevada despite not residing in the state at the moment. 

The Trump campaign has filed a number of lawsuits pointing to a variety of election issues, including issues with their poll watchers being denied proper views of the ballot counting process, problems with voter signatures, backdated postmarks on mail-in ballots and more.