Election Official Rejects Griffin’s Effort to Invalidate 60K NC Votes
TL/DR –
The North Carolina State Board of Elections has rejected an attempt by the losing candidate in the State Supreme Court race to discard more than 60,000 votes. The unsuccessful candidate, Republican Appeals Court judge Jefferson Griffin, challenged the votes on the grounds of incomplete registration details but the board, with a Democrat majority, sided with the incumbent Allison Riggs, asserting that the voters in question had already had their identities and eligibility confirmed in the state’s pre- and post-election checks. Despite this ruling, it is expected that Griffin will appeal the decision to the state court, potentially leading to a hearing before the Supreme Court of North Carolina, which holds a Republican majority.
North Carolina State Board of Elections dismisses effort to invalidate large number of votes in State Supreme Court race
The North Carolina State Board of Elections discarded an appeal on Wednesday that attempted to nullify over 60,000 votes in the tight State Supreme Court contest.
Representatives for incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat, and Republican Appeals Court judge Jefferson Griffin, who is over 730 votes behind according to three separate vote counts, presented their cases.
Griffin challenged 60,000 ballots based on six points, three of which were addressed by the state board. The remainder are being reviewed by individual county boards.
BOE chairman Alan Hirsch, a Democrat, stated that discarding a vote from a registered voter is a direct assault on the democratic system and cannot be allowed.
A large portion of the contested votes lacks driver’s license or partial social security number details in the state registration database. However, there can be many reasons for these missing details, and the mass elimination of such votes would overwhelmingly affect lawfully registered voters.
The state board, consisting of three Democrats and two Republicans, saw party lines divide on the issue of perceived incomplete registrations. The Democrats voted against the challenges, while the Republicans deemed there was sufficient probable cause to warrant a second hearing. However, they did not vote to discard the votes, instead arguing for a comprehensive examination of each of the 60,000 ballots and an opportunity for the voters to defend their votes.
Despite the logistical challenges of such a process after an election, Democrats sided with Riggs’ attorneys, who contended that despite any missing voter registration information, these voters had already been vetted through the state’s comprehensive pre- and post-election checks.
These voters were confirmed to be registered and had legally voted. Thus, according to state and federal law, their votes must be accepted, ruling out the need for further investigation, as per the Board’s Democrats.
Ray Bennett, Riggs’ attorney, chastized Griffin’s attempts to alter the rules of the election after losing, calling it a violation of a fundamental principle.
The board also divided on Griffin’s challenges to votes cast by adults living overseas with parents residing in North Carolina. However, the board unanimously dismissed Griffin’s challenge to overseas military voters’ ballots who didn’t provide a Voter ID, as state law clearly states that they don’t need to do so.
Embry Owen, Riggs’ campaign manager, thanked the State Board of Elections for defending North Carolinian voters’ choice of Justice Allison Riggs to continue serving on the North Carolina Supreme Court. He urged Griffin to concede immediately.
However, it is likely that Griffin will appeal the ruling to the state court, potentially landing the case before the North Carolina Supreme Court, where there is a 5-2 Republican majority.
‘These are voters who followed the rules’
Craig Schauer, Griffin’s lawyer, argued that the challenges were about fairness and ensuring every legal ballot was counted, irrespective of the voter’s party affiliation.
However, Riggs’ attorneys and the board maintain that these 60,000 contested ballots are from eligible voters and disregarding them en masse without evidence of a specific voter’s ineligibility would be unfair.
Bennett highlighted to the board that these are voters who followed the rules when they registered and voted and only discovered after the election that a candidate was attempting to invalidate their votes.
A potential battle lies ahead
Despite heated disagreements between North Carolina Republicans and Democrats, the state board has maintained a cordial and respectful environment. The board often unanimously agrees on decisions, such as the vote on the challenges to military voters and Voter ID.
However, this collegiality may not extend to the legal proceedings surrounding the disputed ballots.
The Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court, Paul Newby, a Republican, has publicly dismissed and secretly criticized Democratic Justices, including Justice Anita Earls, another Democrat on the court.
Riggs’ victory by North Carolina voters has been confirmed in multiple counts of over 5.7 million votes in this year’s election. However, the final decision could rest with an increasingly partisan court that may invalidate tens of thousands of legal votes without clear precedent in modern elections.
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