Federal Judge Rules Democrat Allison Riggs Winner in North Carolina Election

TL/DR –

A federal judge has ruled that North Carolina election officials must certify Democrat Allison Riggs as the winner of a state Supreme Court election. Riggs, currently a member of the court, defeated Republican appellate judge Jefferson Griffin by 734 votes last November, but Griffin challenged more than 60,000 votes, mainly from Democratic-leaning counties. District Judge Richard Myers II upheld Riggs’ right to the seat, stating that Griffin was trying to retroactively change the election rules, which unfairly treated certain groups of voters.

Democrat Allison Riggs Certified As Winner of North Carolina Supreme Court Election

A federal judge has ruled that North Carolina election officials must declare Allison Riggs, a Democrat, as the victor of a state supreme court election. Riggs defeated Jefferson Griffin, a Republican judge, last November. Griffin disputed over 60k votes, predominantly from Democratic-leaning counties.

District judge Richard Myers II backed Riggs, criticizing Griffin’s attempt to alter election rules post-election. Myers stated in his opinion, that no state should “alter the rules of an election after the fact.”

Griffin’s challenge targeted three groups of voters, including tens of thousands whose voter records lacked a driver’s license number or social security digits. Few thousand more were overseas voters without photo ID and a smaller group of voters labelled “never residents” – persons claiming North Carolina as their residence.

Many of the challenged voters, including Riggs’ parents, were eligible to vote. Media outlets reported on several challenged “never residents” who were temporarily abroad but had lived in North Carolina.

Despite initial confidence, voting advocates grew concerned when the North Carolina court of appeals ruled in Griffin’s favor. The supreme court later reduced the number of disputed ballots to around 1,500. Experts argue this post-election challenge to established rules signals a worrying trend with potential implications for future elections.

“You establish the rules before the game. You don’t change them after the game is done,” Myers wrote. Griffin’s campaign told the Associated Press they were evaluating the ruling.

“Today, we won. I’m proud to continue upholding the constitution and the rule of law as North Carolina’s supreme court justice,” stated Riggs in a response to the verdict.

—
Read More US Political News