Riggs: NC Supreme Court Vote Dismissal Threatens Election Integrity

TL/DR –

Republican Jefferson Griffin is challenging the legitimacy of over 60,000 votes in the North Carolina Supreme Court election, where Justice Allison Riggs won by 734 votes. Griffin, a North Carolina appellate court judge, argues that these votes should be discarded as the voters’ registrations were missing some required information on a state database. However, most of these voters are believed to be eligible voters who had to show their voter ID before voting and have been voting without issue for years.

Republican Jefferson Griffin challenges 60,000 votes in NC Supreme Court

Justice Allison Riggs revealed that her parents were amongst the 60,000 voters whose ballots Jefferson Griffin is seeking to discard in the North Carolina Supreme Court election.

Griffin, a Republican and NC Appellate Court Judge, challenged the votes due to supposed registration errors. A majority of these votes likely belong to eligible voters who provided valid voter IDs, according to election officials.

Griffin appeals to NC Supreme Court over disputed votes

Riggs’ 734-vote victory was confirmed by two recounts and Griffin’s challenge was dismissed by the Board of Elections. Griffin subsequently appealed to the NC Supreme Court to discard the 60,000 votes.

His filing asserts that these voters were improperly registered. He requested the court to prevent the Board of Elections from certifying the election and demanded a recount after discarding the 60,000 votes.

Discarding this large number of votes could significantly affect the outcome of other races

Riggs, a former voting rights advocate, called this a move to change the election rules after the game has ended. In her view, these voters have no recourse and this is a gross injustice.

Voters receive confusing postcards

Voters received postcards from the North Carolina Republican Party warning that their vote may be affected by challenges. Riggs helped her parents navigate the instructions on the card and found their names among the challenges.

She expressed concern for those voters who did not have the resources to understand and challenge this process.

Legal Contradictions in Griffin’s filing

Griffin bypassed an appeal to Wake County Superior Court and took his case directly to the state’s highest court. The Board of Elections later petitioned to move the case to federal court.

Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity, suggested that a judge would be unlikely to invalidate a vote, especially 60,000 votes, over registration issues.

Riggs pointed out that Griffin’s arguments are flawed and the scope of the challenges shows a disregard for election integrity.

Despite this ongoing dispute, Griffin expressed his dedication to upholding the rule of law and protecting the voices of lawful voters.

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