By: Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
The race for the North Carolina Supreme Court has entered a tense and legally complex phase, with Democratic Justice Allison Riggs narrowly edging out Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin by a mere 734 votes. However, Griffin is not backing down.
In an unprecedented move, Griffin has filed a legal challenge to the validity of 60,000 votes cast in the state, including those from military and overseas voters, as well as ballots with incomplete registration forms. This legal battle, now playing out in both state and federal courts, could have profound implications.
Griffin, a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, initially held a lead after Election Day, but as provisional ballots were counted, Riggs surged ahead after counting more than 5 million ballots.
However, Griffin is not accepting the outcome. At the heart of Griffin’s challenge is the claim that certain ballots should not count because they were cast by voters whose registration forms were incomplete. Specifically, Griffin is focusing on ballots where voters did not provide a Social Security number or state ID number, which federal law requires for voter registration. However, Griffin has disregarded other provisions of the law that allow voters to use alternative forms of identification, such as a voter ID number or a government-issued document, or providing the required materials when arriving to vote.
In his lawsuit, Griffin also challenges ballots cast by overseas and military voters, arguing that they should have provided a copy of their photo ID when voting via absentee ballots. While federal law protects the rights of overseas voters and does not require photo ID, Griffin’s argument seeks to impose stricter requirements based on the state’s voter-ID laws, which do not explicitly exempt these groups.
This challenge threatens to disenfranchise thousands of voters, including elected officials and even Riggs’ own parents, who are among those on the list of challenged voters.
While Griffin is pushing his case in state courts, a federal lawsuit filed by the North Carolina Democratic Party seeks to protect the rights of these 60,000 voters. The party argues that accepting Griffin’s challenge would violate the 14th Amendment and the Help America Vote Act, as it would deny voters the opportunity to have their ballots properly considered.
Federal judges have already ruled on many of the issues at play in this case. In the lead-up to the election, a federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump rejected similar arguments made by Griffin’s allies, warning that such a decision could “significantly alter the allocation of power … away from a democratic form of government.” The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this decision, reinforcing the idea that voters’ rights should not be lightly dismissed based on technicalities in the registration process.
Despite these rulings, Griffin is moving forward with his legal challenges in state court, hoping to gain a favorable outcome from the Republican-majority state courts.
The fact that many of the challenged voters are from historically marginalized communities, including military families, raises the stakes even higher. Griffin’s challenge has been particularly criticized for disproportionately targeting Black voters, with democracy activists noting that his arguments are more likely to affect ballots cast by African American voters, who are already more vulnerable to disenfranchisement due to systemic barriers.
Moreover, the potential for partisan interference in the state courts could set a dangerous precedent, allowing future elections to be contested on similar grounds, even when no evidence of widespread fraud or ineligibility exists. This case could be a bellwether for how election disputes are handled in the future, with significant ramifications for both state and national elections.
Despite Griffin’s objections, the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously to reject his challenges to the 60,000 contested ballots. The board, consisting of both Democratic and Republican members, determined that the voters in question had been properly registered and that no evidence of widespread fraud or ineligibility had been presented.
Griffin has vowed to continue his legal battle, with expectations that the case will move to Wake County Superior Court and potentially up to the state Supreme Court.
With the fate of 60,000 votes hanging in the balance, North Carolina’s 2024 election season is shaping up to be one of the most contentious in the state’s history. Whether or not Riggs’ victory is upheld, the outcome of this legal fight will reverberate well beyond this one race, setting a precedent for future elections and shaping the ongoing debate over voting rights in the United States.
