By Sister Toldjah. Media: Redstate
The North Carolina Supreme Court race is the only uncalled statewide race remaining in the U.S. after the November 2024 elections. The reason for that, as we’ve reported, is that challenges have been working their way through the courts (at times concurrently) after the GOP candidate, Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, questioned the validity of some 65,000 ballots after the initial count and recount showed him behind by 734 votes.
Among the reasons for the challenges are voters who Griffin’s legal team have said had incorrect/incomplete voter registration information or didn’t include a photo ID (the latter of which are related to overseas absentee ballots, including some who have never lived in the state). Griffin has contended that these issues must be decided by state courts since they involve questions about the partisan Democrat-controlled NC Board of Elections’ interpretations of state election laws, interpretations Griffin argues have been either inconsistent or counter to state law.
His opponent, rabidly left-wing Democrat NC Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs has, along with the BoE and clients/voter groups represented by Dem super-lawyer Marc Elias’s law firm, countered by saying it’s a federal courts matter. Predictably, Riggs and her supporters have also accused Griffin of trying to “steal” the election and disenfranchise NC voters.
In a major update to this case, the NC Court of Appeals has issued a ruling that is highly favorable to Griffin:
In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the intermediate-level Court of Appeals ruled that ballots — likely tens of thousands of them — were wrongly allowed in the tally, and it gave some of those voters about three weeks to provide additional information or see the ballots get removed. The disputed ballots are believed to favor Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs, who, after two recounts, held a 734-vote lead over her Republican opponent in their race, which saw over 5.5 million ballots cast.
The judges on Friday found that the State Board of Elections got it wrong in December when it dismissed Griffin’s election protests. The ruling is expected to be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Griffin’s postelection protests challenged more than 65,000 ballots in three different categories. Griffin currently serves on the Court of Appeals and had recused himself from deliberations within the court, where some of his colleagues ruled in favor of him.
The prevailing opinion declares that the board should have found that ballots from within each of three categories shouldn’t be counted because they failed to comply with state law or the state constitution. The decision also reverses the decision of a trial judge who in February upheld the board’s actions.
The full opinion can be read here.
The current composition of the NC Supreme Court is 5-2 Republican, and Democrats are desperate to change that before the 2030 map redrawing takes place:
Riggs has repeatedly called on Griffin to drop his challenges and concede defeat, but he has continued pressing forward in court. An election victory for Griffin would shift the Supreme Court to a 6-1 GOP majority. Democrats want to flip back control of the court before 2030, when the next round of redistricting will begin, but a Griffin win would complicate the party’s effort.
I’ve seen a smattering of Republicans who have criticized Griffin for standing his ground, but in my opinion, getting firm guidance, clarity, and consistency on Board of Election interpretations of state election law (interpretations which have been challenged before) in this state has been long overdue.
With this race still undecided and with more court action on the horizon, RedState will keep you posted on the latest developments. As always, stay tuned.
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