Hundreds march in Charlotte to protest Griffin’s challenges to NC Supreme Court votes
Hundreds gathered in uptown Monday to protest Republican Jefferson Griffin’s challenges to November’s state Supreme Court race.
Two recounts say Griffin lost to Democrat Allison Riggs by more than 700 votes. Three months later, the election has not been certified. Griffin has asked that 65,000 ballots be thrown out, citing untested legal theories.
His ask targets voters who don’t have a Social Security number or driver’s license number attached to their registration records; military and overseas voters who cast absentee ballots without providing a voter ID, and adult children of state residents who live abroad.
A Wake County judge rejected Griffin’s request earlier this month. He has appealed the decision.
North Carolina GOP spokesman Matt Mercer has said the party “will continue to support Judge Griffin in his pursuit of election integrity.” And Chief Justice Paul Newby has called it “unfortunate” that some have accused Griffin of seeking to disenfranchise voters.
Democrats have said it is past time for him to concede.
Specific issues that sometimes fall to the state’s Supreme Court, such as education funding, were a concern for some Charlotteans Monday. But the main worry, many said, was the precedent that dismissing tens of thousands of ballots could have.
Mark Taylor brought a sign to Monday’s march that read “WTF! Do Voters Matter Anymore?” For years, Taylor has worried about the state of democracy, he said, and Griffin’s challenge is just the latest example.
“Like the sign says: W.T.F., man?” he told a reporter.
‘An attempt to destroy our democracy’
Protesters started at Marshall Park and marched to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. Similar protests took place In a dozen cities across the state, including Raleigh.
Common Cause North Carolina put on Monday’s Charlotte protest with help from groups like the local NAACP, the Poor People’s Campaign and Democracy Out Loud.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP President Corine Mack described Griffin’s challenges to the election as “an attempt to destroy our democracy.”
“My mother and father sacrificed so much to give me the opportunities that I’ve got,” Mack said. “Unfortunately, our grandchildren and great grandchildren will not have our rights if we don’t stand up. We are the foundation of their future.”
Ultimately, what comes of Griffin’s challenges will be important to the rest of the country, she added.
Brandon Rivers, executive director of the Charlotte Democracy Center, said his group is nonpartisan. They mostly “make sure that every eligible citizen in North Carolina is registered to vote and make sure they are able to cast their ballot,” he said.
Griffin’s challenges to the election results could have a damaging effect, he said.
“One of the things that we hear all the time when we’re registering these people is, ‘My vote does not count,’” Rivers said. He said his presence Monday was about fighting a form of voter suppression.
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 6:42 PM.