Republican Jefferson Griffin, who narrowly lost his bid for a state Supreme Court seat, is seeking to invalidate 60,000 ballots based on a theory widely criticized as voter suppression—even by election skeptics.
The North Carolina Supreme Court issued an order that blocks state officials from certifying Democratic Justice Allison Riggs as the winner of a razor-thin race for the state’s high court, even though a full machine recount and a partial hand recount showed Riggs leading Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin by 734 votes, out of more than 5.5 million ballots cast.
In a 4-2 vote, all but one of the Republicans on the state Supreme court ruled to prevent the North Carolina State Board of Elections from certifying the results of the race. Riggs recused herself from the vote.
The decision by the court that Griffin is seeking to join, and that Riggs is seeking to remain on, allows the justices to now hear a challenge from Griffin that seeks to throw out 60,000 votes cast in November.
"An Attempt to Change the Rules After the Game is Played"
The challenge stems from an election denier theory that even critics say would amount to voter suppression. Griffin's plan is to challenge ballots from voters whose registrations lacked a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number, even though state election officials have clarified that missing information on voter registrations often stems from administrative errors, not voter misconduct. Voters who registered before paperwork updates or used alternative documents, like utility bills, to verify their identity are among those affected. These voters still had to prove their identity when casting ballots, typically with a driver’s license.
“This is essentially an attempt to change the rules after the game has been played,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “It’s unprecedented and undermines the integrity of the electoral process.”
Former Republican state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr argues that Griffin’s petition lacks evidence of illegal voting and poses serious conflicts of interest, as the deciding court is the one Griffin is hoping to join.
Orr said, “I appreciate fighting for every vote: If you honestly think illegal votes have been cast, it’s legitimate to try to prove that,” he said. “But the bottom line is: Did anyone vote illegally? Have you been able to prove one person voted illegally? At this point, no. And we’re weeks past the election and multiple recounts, and there’s no evidence of that.”
Baseless Theory Behind the Challenge
The theory behind Griffin’s challenge originated with Carol Snow, a self-described election denier and activist. Snow has been involved in efforts to question the validity of elections, including filing extensive records requests and promoting the idea that missing voter information allows fraudulent voting. However, Snow and her supporters have not produced evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Legal experts and election officials have dismissed Snow’s claims as baseless. “The state’s database issues do not equate to voter fraud,” attorneys for the state election board stated in response to a related lawsuit.
Griffin’s challenge highlights a broader trend of using unsubstantiated claims to undermine confidence in elections. While Griffin has declined to comment on the pending litigation, his critics, including Riggs’ campaign manager, have called on him to concede.
“North Carolina voters have already spoken,” said Riggs’ campaign. “This election should not be decided in court.”
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