NC appeals court gives 60,000 voters 15 days to prove eligibility – Washington Examiner
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that 60,000 voters who submitted ballots without necessary identification must prove their eligibility within 15 days or risk having their votes discarded in the closely contested 2024 state Supreme court race. This decision is a legal victory for Republican candidate jefferson Griffin, who is challenging incumbent liberal justice Allison riggs. Griffin had claimed that these ballots were invalid because voters either lacked a driver’s licence or Social Security number or failed to provide identification when voting from overseas. While initial challenges from Griffin were dismissed by the state Board of Elections adn a lower court, the appeals court instructed local boards to notify these voters of their registration issues and allow them time to rectify the situation. Riggs has announced her intention to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme court, arguing that it could disenfranchise lawful voters.The ruling adds a layer of complexity to an already undecided election that could hinge on this issue.
North Carolina court gives 60,000 voters 15 days to prove eligibility in win for GOP candidate
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ordered 60,000 voters who submitted ballots without key identification information to prove their eligibility or have their votes tossed in the still-undecided 2024 state Supreme Court race.
The 2-1 Friday decision was the first legal victory for conservative Jefferson Griffin in his bid to unseat incumbent liberal justice Allison Riggs on the Tar Heel State’s high court. Recounts showed Riggs leading Griffin by 734 votes before Griffin challenged the eligibility of roughly 60,000 ballots, halting the race’s certification.
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Griffin argued that the roughly 60,000 ballots were from voters who did not have a driver’s license or Social Security number on their file or voted overseas but did not provide photo identification, violating the law. He said the votes should be tossed, but both the Democrat-led state Board of Elections and the Wake County Superior Court rejected his arguments.
The state Court of Appeals did not throw out the contested ballots. Instead, it ruled that voters may have 15 days to provide proper identification to verify their votes or have their ballot tossed.
“Upon remand, the Board is instructed to immediately direct the county boards in all one hundred
counties to expeditiously identify the challenged ‘Incomplete Voter Registration’ voters and notify said voters of their registration defects, to allow said voters fifteen (15) business days from the mailing of the notice to cure the defect, and upon verification to include in the count of this challenged election the votes of those voters who timely cure their registration defects and to omit from the final count the votes of those voters who fail to timely cure their registration defects,” the ruling said.
While Griffin achieved his first legal victory, Riggs has already said she will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
“We will be promptly appealing this deeply misinformed decision that threatens to disenfranchise more than 65,000 lawful voters and sets a dangerous precedent, allowing disappointed politicians to thwart the will of the people,” Riggs said in a statement.
“North Carolinians elected me to keep my seat and I swore an oath to the constitution and the rule of law — so I will continue to stand up for the rights of voters in this state and stand in the way of those who would take power from the people,” she added.
Both Griffin, who serves on the state Court of Appeals, and Riggs, who serves on the state Supreme Court, have recused themselves from the case as it has been heard by their respective courts.
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The North Carolina Supreme Court has a 5-1 conservative majority, not including Riggs’s seat, but how the court would rule in this case remains to be seen. Two justices, one conservative and one liberal, have indicated in previous rulings they would not favor Griffin’s arguments. The other four conservative justices have not given any indication of how they would rule.
If the state Supreme Court decides to hear the case but ends with a 3-3 decision, the state Court of Appeals’s ruling would stand. The race is the final undecided contest from the November 2024 election.
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