‘None of the above’ arguments will be heard on Sept. 14

A federal judge has scheduled oral arguments on whether "none of the above" should appear as an option on Nevada ballots in November.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jones in Reno ruled last week that the option was unconstitutional because votes for "none" don't count in election tallies and cannot win. On Thursday, he scheduled arguments for Sept. 14 on whether his ruling should go into effect immediately or not take effect pending appeal.

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller has said he will ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to block Jones' ruling. Jones has not yet issued a written ruling in the case.

Earlier Thursday, Nevada asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to put a hold on a lower court's order that would scrap the state's decades-old voting option.

The state must complete ballots for overseas and military voters by Sept. 7, which isn't enough time to get a ruling on the state's appeal, the Nevada attorney general's office argued in the emergency motion.

The deadline for mailing ballots overseas is Sept. 22, or 45 days before the election. Ballots take two weeks to be printed, Deputy Attorney General Kevin Benson said in the motion for postponement.