More than three months after the 2024 elections, there remains one uncalled statewide race in the Tar Heel State. A Thursday court decision further delayed its resolution.
The North Carolina Supreme Court denied an effort by the state Board of Elections to bypass the state Court of Appeals as Republican Jefferson Griffin seeks to have 60,000 votes thrown out from the final tally of the hotly contested state Supreme Court election.
Griffin argues those votes were cast by people who did not have a driver’s license or Social Security number on their file or voted overseas but did not provide photo identification and, therefore, were not legal.
The most recent recount shows Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs with a 734-vote lead over Griffin in the race for a seat on the state Supreme Court.
The state Board of Elections, which has a Democratic majority, and the Wake County Superior Court rejected Griffin’s claims, but he has appealed to the state Court of Appeals. The state Board of Elections had attempted to bypass the appellate court and go straight to the state Supreme Court.
Riggs supported the move to expedite the challenge, with her legal counsel arguing that it would “minimize the already significant burden of this dispute on judicial and taxpayer resources, and to address state law issues of exceptional public importance that all agree warrant ultimate resolution by this Court.”
The high court in the Tar Heel State declined to let the case bypass the state Court of Appeals in a 4-2 decision. Riggs recused herself from the decision, and Griffin, who currently serves on the state Court of Appeals, has recused himself from the case as it now proceeds there.
Both the state Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court have GOP majorities, and the decision to move forward through the lower court first could play more favorably for Griffin.
Two members of the state Supreme Court, one Democrat and one Republican, have indicated they would not rule in favor of Griffin. The other four Republican justices who will decide the case have not previewed how they would rule should it return to the high court. In the event of a 3-3 decision in the state Supreme Court, the lower court’s decision would stand.
Despite the decision further delaying the certification of the November election, Riggs remains adamant that she will ultimately be elected to the seat.
“No matter how long this drags out, I will continue to defend our state and federal Constitutions and North Carolinians’ fundamental freedoms. As constitutional officers, judges must respect the will of voters,” Riggs said in a statement Thursday. “My commitment to upholding the rule of law is why voters elected me to keep my seat more than 3 months ago.”
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Thursday’s decision was the second time the state Supreme Court has denied an effort to bypass lower courts in this case. Griffin had pushed for the high court to hear the case prior to the appeal being taken up by the Wake County Superior Court.
The January decision also permitted the stay on certifying the election to remain in place, a status that remains months after the election was scheduled to be certified.
