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Reuters
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Republican concedes in North Carolina court race, ending bid to throw out votes
May 7 (Reuters) - A Republican candidate for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court in November's election conceded defeat on Wednesday, ending his legal efforts to have thousands of ballots thrown out six months after the final votes were cast. Judge Jefferson Griffin conceded two days after a federal judge delivered a victory for Democratic sitting Justice Allison Riggs by ordering North Carolina's election board to not throw out any ballots cast by voters in the close race. "While I do not fully agree with the district court's analysis, I respect the court's holding — just as I have respected every judicial tribunal that has heard this case," Griffin said. "I will not appeal the court's decision." Riggs said in a statement she was "glad the will of the voters was finally heard, six months and two days after Election Day." Riggs has been vying for a full eight-year term on the high court following her 2023 appointment to the court by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper to fill a vacancy on the seven-member tribunal, whose justices are elected. The court has a 5-2 Republican majority. Democrats, with an eye toward future fights over redistricting and abortion access, sought to keep control of Riggs' seat so they could potentially regain a majority in future elections. Griffin, a member of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, led Riggs by nearly 10,000 votes in the immediate hours after polls closed on November 5. But that lead dwindled as more ballots were counted, and after recounts, Riggs was leading by 734 votes. Griffin then sought in court to have set aside over 60,000 ballots cast by voters whose registrations were accepted despite having not provided driver's license numbers or Social Security numbers as state law required. The state's high court last month declined to toss those ballots. But it said some military and overseas voters whose ballots Griffin challenged for not providing photo identification would need to verify their eligibility within a 30-day period. That opened the door to potentially thousands of votes still being thrown out, prompting Riggs to urge a federal judge to prevent what she called an unprecedented legal effort to overturn an election. Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Myers, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump in Raleigh, agreed with her on Monday, saying Griffin cannot under the U.S. Constitution "change the rules of the game after it had been played."
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Jefferson Griffin in N.C. Supreme Court Race Concedes Defeat
Republican Challenger in Long-Contested N.C. Race Concedes Defeat Three counts had showed that the incumbent, a Democrat, won the election last fall. But for months, Judge Jefferson Griffin tried to reverse his loss through the courts. Learn more Listen to this article · 1:12 min Share full article Judge Jefferson Griffin said in a statement that he would not appeal a federal court ruling on Monday that had ordered the state elections board to certify the victory for the Democratic incumbent, Justice Allison Riggs. Credit... Robert Willett/The News & Observer, via Associated Press
New York Times
07-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
N.C. Supreme Court Halts Voter Eligibility Review in Contested Judicial Race
The North Carolina Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court's order from taking effect on Monday that would have required tens of thousands of people who voted in 2024 to verify their eligibility. The higher court stayed that order while it considers an appeal in a long-running dispute over the election. The ruling on Monday is the latest twist in a five-month battle over a seat on the very same State Supreme Court. Justice Allison Riggs, the Democratic incumbent, won the election in November over Judge Jefferson Griffin, the Republican challenger, by 734 votes. Judge Griffin has challenged the result, seeking to dismiss the ballots cast by roughly 65,000 people. He has argued that a majority of them were ineligible to vote because they did not supply certain required identification data when they registered — though the omission was because of administrative errors and no fault of the voters. The race is the last 2024 statewide election in the nation that remains uncertified. On Friday, a state appeals court sided with Judge Griffin, ruling that the challenged voters must verify or correct their registration information within a 15-day window or have their ballots thrown out. That ruling was set to take effect at 5 p.m. on Monday. Because many of the affected voters live in Democratic-leaning counties, discarding their ballots could potentially have overturned the results of the election. Justice Riggs and the North Carolina State Election Board immediately said they would appeal, and asked the State Supreme Court to issue a stay to halt the registration-fixing effort, and to review the appellate court's ruling. Judge Griffin's legal team did not oppose the request for a stay, but even so, the higher court waited until Monday to take action. 'The court of appeals cites no precedent — from any court in North Carolina or elsewhere — to support such an initiative nearly half a year after an election,' lawyers for Justice Riggs wrote in their filing. 'Worse, the court of appeals' ruling is destined to disenfranchise thousands of North Carolinians, denying them due process and equal protection under North Carolina law.' The stunning ruling on Friday sparked confusion among voters and local election officials across the state. County and state election offices were already being contacted on Monday by voters seeking to fix any issues with their ballots. In a statement Monday afternoon, he North Carolina State Board of Elections said it would issue guidance to local officials about the registration-fixing effort if necessary. Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said that if the appellate ruling ultimately did take effect, his agency 'will provide detailed instructions to the county boards of elections and affected voters on how to comply with the court's decision.' This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
