North Carolina Court Sides With GOP On Ballot Dispute
The North Carolina Supreme Court has prevented the certification of Democrat Allison Riggs as the winner in the state’s Supreme Court race following a request from her Republican challenger, Jefferson Griffin. The ruling delays the finalization of a contest marred by allegations of ballot irregularities.
Riggs, an incumbent justice, led Griffin by 734 votes after a recount. The razor-thin margin flipped in her favor weeks after Election Day as additional ballots were counted. Griffin’s campaign disputes 60,000 of those votes, asserting that they should not have been included.
Griffin, supported by the North Carolina GOP and RNC, filed challenges to those ballots, citing their potential impact on the outcome. “Every legal vote must be counted, and every illegal vote must be excluded,” Griffin said. GOP leaders echoed his concerns, accusing the election board of failing to uphold fair practices.
BREAKING: The North Carolina Supreme Court just issued an order blocking the certification of the Supreme Court race where the Republican candidate was overtaken by the Democrat after late ballots arrived.
Republican Jefferson Griffin is challenging the validity of 60,000 votes… pic.twitter.com/EvpohajRFA
— George (@BehizyTweets) January 7, 2025
North Carolina Supreme Court Blocks Elections Board From Certifying Democrat As Winner For High Court Seat https://t.co/QvjSMiAUPJ
— 🌺🌿kam🌿🌺 (@pjkate) January 8, 2025
The case has bounced between state and federal courts. Earlier this week, a federal judge returned the matter to North Carolina, but the elections board appealed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The higher court has yet to issue its decision.
🚨Certification halted for North Carolina Supreme Court race
Marc Elias👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/byTv0pc11v— Loreyla D'Orazio 🇻🇪🇮🇹🇺🇸 (@Barlofa) January 8, 2025
BREAKING 🚨 After 11 days of Ballots continually being counted in North Carolina, The Democrats have now taken the lead for NC Supreme Court
THIS is what stealing an Election looks like
STOP THE STEAL pic.twitter.com/WqfddXVNyx
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) November 16, 2024
Riggs recused herself from involvement in the case, leaving the Republican-controlled Supreme Court to grant the temporary stay. Justice Anita Earls dissented, warning that halting certification undermines the electoral process.
🚨 HUGE DEVELOPMENT: The Supreme Court of North Carolina has just BLOCKED the certification of the Supreme Court election where the Democrat barely won.
This is an EXTRAORDINARILY tight race – the Democrat is ahead by less than 1,000 votes.
Democrat Allison Riggs will no longer… pic.twitter.com/FhhztU09nN
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 7, 2025
BREAKING: The North Carolina Supreme Court just issued an order blocking the certification of the Supreme Court race where the Republican candidate was overtaken by the Democrat after late ballots arrived. Republican Jefferson Griffin is challenging the validity of 60,000 votes https://t.co/Axq9uhHG9K
— vzvz (@xvbvzvz) January 8, 2025
Republicans see this battle as a test of election integrity, especially given the sharp contrast between President Donald Trump’s statewide victory and Democrat successes in close down-ballot races.