Riggs claims win despite opponent disputing 60,000 votes
TL/DR –
Incumbent Justice Allison Riggs of the Democratic party declared victory in the North Carolina Supreme Court election, holding a lead of over 700 votes, despite the final results not being official and a recount process underway. Riggs’ opponent, state appellate Judge Jefferson Griffin, has submitted documentation challenging the validity of over 60,000 votes. The recount process, which is expected to conclude by November 27, is unlikely to result in significant differences in vote counts, and vote invalidation claims made by Griffin, for reasons such as missing identification data and votes from adult children of North Carolina residents living overseas, have previously been rejected by courts.
“I confidently declare my victory in the North Carolina Supreme Court race!” stated Riggs on social media.
The 2024 NC State Supreme Court election results are not final yet, but we’re progressing.
Unofficial results show a lead of over 700 votes for incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat, in one of the state’s most closely watched races. The regular recount process is ongoing.
Despite the outcome, the court’s composition, currently a 5-2 Republican majority, won’t change. Still, if Riggs’ win stands, Democrats could flip control in 2028. Conversely, if state appellate Judge Jefferson Griffin overcomes the margin, Republicans can retain control for ten more years.
The .02 percentage point margin between Riggs and Griffin is under the threshold for seeking a recount, which Griffin has requested and is expected to finish by Nov 27.
Griffin also submitted documents challenging over 60,000 votes’ validity, a larger than usual part of the process. But recounts and challenges rarely alter vote counts significantly, a factor contributing to Riggs’ claimed victory.
Riggs posted her claimed victory on social media, expecting a smooth recount process that will confirm and affirm her win.
60,000 challenges with scant evidence
Griffin’s ballot challenges, based on already rejected legal theories, seek to discard thousands of votes due to missing identification data. However, missing data doesn’t necessarily make a voter ineligible, election officials point out.
Eliminating these 60,000 ballots equates to discarding as many legal votes.
Before the voting started, Republicans tried to eliminate 225,000 voters from the state’s rolls for similar reasons, a move that was blocked by the court.
Griffin also seeks to invalidate votes from North Carolinians’ adult children living overseas. However, state law clearly states their eligibility to vote.
Republicans may still file new lawsuits contesting the vote counting process, hoping for the case to reach the state Supreme Court, where they hold a majority.
History of close court races in North Carolina
Close elections requiring recounts are rare in North Carolina, except for Supreme Court races.
In 2020, incumbent Democrat Cheri Beasley sought a recount after initial results showed her trailing Republican Paul Newby by 406 votes. After the recount, the margin reduced slightly to 401 votes.
Following the recount, Beasley withdrew her challenges and conceded the race.
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