NC high court election case heads to three-judge panel, 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat
A three-judge panel will hear arguments Friday, March 21, on Jefferson Griffin’s request to throw out over 65,000 ballots cast in the 2024 N.C. Supreme Court election.
The state Court of Appeals rejected Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs’ request that the case be heard “en banc” by the entire 15-judge court .
“Having received only three votes to allow, the motion is denied,” the court’s clerk Eugene H. Soar said Friday.
It’s the latest stop in a contentious and unprecedented case that has now persisted over four months past the Nov. 5 election.
Griffin, who is a judge on the Court of Appeals himself, lost to Riggs by 734 votes out of over 5.5 million ballots cast.
Griffin’s challenge will now be heard by three appeal court judges — two Republicans, John Tyson and Fred Gore, and a registered Democrat Toby Hampson — on Friday, March 21. Griffin “didn’t participate in the latest consideration of this motion,” the court added.
Riggs’ narrow lead was confirmed by two recounts, but Griffin and the North Carolina Republican Party have embarked on a campaign to invalidate tens of thousands of ballots using untested legal theories.
They argue that over 60,000 voters who cast ballots in the race may be ineligible because they did not have a Social Security number or driver’s license number in the state’s database.
The State Board of Elections says there are myriad reasons for the missing numbers — most of which are not the fault of the voter. It could be due to clerical errors in inputting their registration forms or match issues with the national Social Security database when someone changes names.
Griffin also targets military and overseas voters who cast ballots without providing a photo ID — even though the elections board approved an exemption to the requirement for these voters. And he challenges the eligibility of what he calls “Never Residents” — the adult children of North Carolina residents born abroad.
The case has ping-ponged between state and federal courts for months and now appears poised to come before the North Carolina Supreme Court — the court Riggs and Griffin seek to join.
Riggs was appointed to the high court in 2023 by Gov. Roy Cooper and remains in her seat while the dispute continues. She has recused herself from the case.
If she ultimately loses at the state Supreme Court, she may still be able to bring the case to federal court.
This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 12:53 PM with the headline "NC high court election case heads to three-judge panel, 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat."
