Riggs’ NC Supreme Court Win Confirmed, 60K Ballots Under Review

Justice Allison Riggs’ victory against Republican Jefferson Griffin in the North Carolina Supreme Court race remains intact despite a partial hand recount, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections announcement. Any potential change would be due to discarding legal votes, not counting them.

Allison Riggs has triumphed in all three official vote counts in the 2024 state Supreme Court election. The initial count and a machine recount both showed Riggs winning by 734 votes. A smaller hand recount requested by Griffin increased Riggs’ lead by 14 votes.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections (BOE) stated Tuesday that there would be no more recounts since the partial hand recount did not alter the results.

Griffin and state Republicans, on minimal evidence and legal theories already rejected by courts, have challenged over 60,000 ballots, mostly cast by eligible voters.

Most challenges are related to voters whose driver’s license or partial social security number info aren’t in a state registration database. Federal law requires this info. A similar lawsuit filed by Republicans claimed noncitizens could be hiding among the registrations missing the info. This legal claim has been unanimously rejected by the BOE in a separate case and by a federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump.

An analysis of the 60,000 ballots conducted by the News & Observer found that Black voters were twice as likely as white voters to have their ballots challenged in Griffin’s count. The BOE will hold a hearing on Griffin’s challenges on Wednesday.

The final response to these challenges will likely come from the courts, not the board.

Likely destined for the courts

Griffin can appeal the BOE’s decision to Wake County Superior Court, and then ultimately to the State Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a 5-2 majority. The North Carolina Democratic Party has also filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking to block the Board of Elections from deciding in Griffin’s favor.

‘It makes no sense to me’

Voter challenges are usually restricted to specific claims against individual voters, not tens of thousands of voters across all demographics. The 60,000 ballots Griffin is contesting include unaffiliated voters, Democrats, Republicans, prominent doctors, and Riggs’ parents, all of whom have been voting without any issues for years.

‘What’s happening in North Carolina is sinister’

Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, held a press conference in Raleigh on Tuesday to highlight Griffin’s voter challenge as part of Republican efforts to disenfranchise Democrats.

How to check if your vote is being protested and what to do about it

If your vote is being challenged, you can find the full list of contested ballots on the Board of Election website. The challenges are arranged by county, challenger, and reason (key word: “incomplete registration). If your name is on the list, you can reach out to Griffin or Riggs’ team at [email protected] and [email protected].