Democrats have filed a lawsuit claiming a petition to recall state Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro falls nearly 2,000 signatures short of what’s needed to trigger a recall election.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Clark County District Court, comes about a week after the secretary of state declared the petition to recall the freshman Democrat had qualified by a slim margin of 43 signatures. Democrats conducted their own extensive review of the approximately 17,000 signatures submitted by recall supporters.

“In the end, despite their efforts, Republicans have failed to convince enough voters in District 6 to go along with their partisan recall scheme,” said Bradley Schrager, a lawyer challenging the recalls, in a statement. “The end of this cynical chapter in Nevada politics is near.”

The complaint alleges that nearly 1,700 signatures come from people who are ineligible to sign the petition, more than 2,200 signatures were properly revoked by the signers and several hundred more are ineligible for other reasons.

Three state senators have been targeted for recalls in a Republican-backed attempt to reclaim the state Senate majority from Democrats. An effort to recall nonpartisan Sen. Patricia Farley, funded by an offshoot of the Republican State Leadership Committee, fell far short of the required signatures.

An effort to recall Democratic state Sen. Joyce Woodhouse has qualified, but Democrats are challenging that in court after a similar, extensive review of signatures. A hearing on that case is scheduled for January.

Democrats Challenge State Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro Recall Petition by Michelle Rindels on Scribd