FILE: Sean Reyes answers questions after an award ceremony in the State Capitol building. (KSL-TV)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford criticized Sean Reyes, the newly-reelected attorney general for Utah, after comments over the weekend that the Utah Republican suspected “voting irregularities” in Nevada’s ballot count.
After a weekend trip to investigate these allegations, Ford called Reyes’ actions a “disrespectful slap in the face.”
“I would ask that he mind his own business, frankly,” Ford told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday.
This comes after Reyes announced Friday — one day before Joe Biden was declared president-elect — he would take a “personal weekend” to advise on any legal challenges in Nevada.
“I am taking a personal weekend to help review and advise on potential lawsuits related to ensuring all legal votes are counted,” Reyes said in a tweet.
After returning to Utah, the attorney general said he observed “voting irregularities” that he believes may have resulted in proper votes being rejected while improper votes were counted.
“How many? Will they make a difference? These are the answers we are seeking,” Reyes said in a prepared statement Monday.
The trip to Nevada elicited criticism from members of the United Utah Party and Alliance for a Better Utah — who argued the attorney general should devote time to his own incumbents.
Reyes’ statements reflect a larger theme within the GOP; in recent days, several high-profile members — including President Donald Trump himself — refused to accept the results of the election. However, several prominent Utah Republicans have called for unity and say they see no evidence of fraud.
Earlier this week, a group of Republican attorneys general filed a multi-state amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the decision allowing Pennsylvania to count ballots it received three days after the election (so long as voters got them postmarked by Election Day). Reyes did not sign onto the brief.
Nevada Attorney General Ford asserts none of the legal challenges by President Trump provided evidence of fraud. Instead, he said the claims undermine the integrity of the presidential election.
“Those who are running these tactics, I will call them what they are,” Ford told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “They’re saboteurs.”