Latest news with #N.C.StateBoardofElections
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Justice Allison Riggs sworn into NC Supreme Court after months-long election dispute
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Following a six-month legal battle that made waves in the political landscape across the country, Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs is set to be sworn into the North Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday morning. This marks the official end to a longstanding dispute as Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin repeatedly called for reviews and for thousands of ballots, including those of overseas military members, to be thrown out. PREVIOUS: Republican concedes long-unsettled North Carolina court election to Democratic incumbent A federal judge ruled last week that the N.C. State Board of Elections must certify the results of last November's election, which declared Riggs as the winner for a seat on the state Supreme Court. The results showed that Riggs won by 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast. In his ruling in favor of Riggs, the U.S. District Judge Richard Myers said throwing out the absentee ballots would be a violation of those voters' rights. Two days later, Griffin finally conceded in the race, setting the stage for Riggs to be elected to an eight-year term as an associate justice. '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.' PREVIOUS: Federal judge orders certification of NC Supreme Court election in favor of Allison Riggs Riggs reacted to the news with the following statement: 'After millions of dollars spent, more than 68,000 voters at risk of losing their votes, thousands of volunteers mobilized, hundreds of legal documents filed, and immeasurable damage done to our democracy, I'm glad the will of the voters was finally heard, six months and two days after Election Day. It's been my honor to lead this fight – even though it should never have happened – and I'm in awe of the North Carolinians whose courage reminds us all that we can use our voices to hold accountable any politician who seeks to take power out of the hands of the people.' Riggs, appointed last year by Gov. Roy Cooper to replace former Justice Mike Morgan, is one of two Democrats on the seven-member state Supreme Court. Despite his loss, Griffin will remain as a state Court of Appeals judge, as his term doesn't end until 2028. 'I wish my opponent the best and will continue to pray for her and all the members of our court system here in North Carolina. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of North Carolina,' Griffin said. The North Carolina Supreme Court election was the last race nationally in the 2024 general election that had been undecided. Riggs will take her oath during a ceremony inside the Capitol building in Raleigh starting at 10 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Justice Allison Riggs to be sworn into NC Supreme Court after months-long election dispute
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Following a six-month legal battle that made waves in the political landscape across the country, Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs is set to be sworn into the North Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday morning. This marks the official end to a longstanding dispute as Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin repeatedly called for reviews and for thousands of ballots, including those of overseas military members, to be thrown out. PREVIOUS: Republican concedes long-unsettled North Carolina court election to Democratic incumbent A federal judge ruled last week that the N.C. State Board of Elections must certify the results of last November's election, which declared Riggs as the winner for a seat on the state Supreme Court. The results showed that Riggs won by 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast. In his ruling in favor of Riggs, the U.S. District Judge Richard Myers said throwing out the absentee ballots would be a violation of those voters' rights. Two days later, Griffin finally conceded in the race, setting the stage for Riggs to be elected to an eight-year term as an associate justice. '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.' PREVIOUS: Federal judge orders certification of NC Supreme Court election in favor of Allison Riggs Riggs reacted to the news with the following statement: 'After millions of dollars spent, more than 68,000 voters at risk of losing their votes, thousands of volunteers mobilized, hundreds of legal documents filed, and immeasurable damage done to our democracy, I'm glad the will of the voters was finally heard, six months and two days after Election Day. It's been my honor to lead this fight – even though it should never have happened – and I'm in awe of the North Carolinians whose courage reminds us all that we can use our voices to hold accountable any politician who seeks to take power out of the hands of the people.' Riggs, appointed last year by Gov. Roy Cooper to replace former Justice Mike Morgan, is one of two Democrats on the seven-member state Supreme Court. Despite his loss, Griffin will remain as a state Court of Appeals judge, as his term doesn't end until 2028. 'I wish my opponent the best and will continue to pray for her and all the members of our court system here in North Carolina. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of North Carolina,' Griffin said. The North Carolina Supreme Court election was the last race nationally in the 2024 general election that had been undecided. Riggs will take her oath during a ceremony inside the Capitol building in Raleigh starting at 10 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill reduces early-voting window
HIGH POINT — A bill introduced recently in the N.C. General Assembly could dramatically change early voting as the practice marks its 25th anniversary this year. House Bill 66 would reduce the amount of time for in-person early voting statewide by essentially a week and a half, from up to 17 days to only six days. Early voting now starts on the third Thursday of the month before Election Day but according to this bill would begin on the second Monday before Election Day, which would eliminate all early voting on Sundays. 'Currently, North Carolina is in the broad middle of states in how many days it provides for early voting,' said John Dinan, a professor of political science at Wake Forest University. 'But this bill would leave North Carolina with one of the shorter early voting periods of the states that allow in-person early voting.' Supporters of the legislation say it would save money for the state and counties that administer elections while still providing time to vote early. Detractors say that shortening early voting will make it more inconvenient for North Carolinians and could discourage many people from casting a ballot. Early voting has steadily grown in popularity since it was introduced during North Carolina's general election in 2000. For last year's presidential general election, 4.2 million voters cast a ballot early out of a total of 5.7 million overall voters, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections. Shortening early voting could upset voters who have gotten used to the current period for the option to cast a ballot, said Brandon Lenoir, an associate professor of political science and strategic communication at High Point University. 'Many voters like the convenience of having roughly two weeks to cast their ballot,' Lenoir told The High Point Enterprise. 'Reducing the early voting period to a week takes away some of that convenience and gives voters fewer days to vote. Fewer days means more people standing in line to vote.' House Bill 66 was introduced by Republican representatives in the GOP-controlled N.C. General Assembly. But the partisan impact of the proposal isn't cut and dried, Dinan said. 'For some time in North Carolina, Democrats took much more advantage of early voting than Republicans did. But this shifted dramatically in 2024 after Republicans began encouraging their voters to vote early, and they did vote early in significant numbers,' he said. Lenoir said that shortening the period for early voting could lessen the burden on political campaigns. 'It costs the candidates time and money to have campaign staff and volunteers work the polls for those extra days,' he said. Dinan said that it's not certain what effects shortening early voting would have on counties that administer elections. 'This bill would ease some of the pressures on local governments and poll workers by limiting the number of days they would have to be open for early voting,' he said. 'But on the other hand, it would increase the number of voters who would be showing up on the remaining limited number of early voting days and would create more pressure on them in that sense.' Dinan said that it's likely House Bill 66 would face challenges in the courts if it passes. 'A federal court issued a ruling a decade ago preventing enforcement of a comprehensive set of elections law changes that included shortening the early-voting period,' Dinan said.
