The ongoing Republican effort to steal last year’s North Carolina Supreme Court race — the only 2024 race that has not yet been certified — continues this week after a federal court ordered the State Board of Elections to comply with a state court order that could potentially disenfranchise thousands of overseas and military voters.
In only a partial win for Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, the state Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the over 60,000 votes that Republican state Supreme Court candidate and Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin is trying to invalidate, must be counted.
However, the ruling also noted that between 2,000 and 7,000 overseas and military voters who did not provide a photo ID when they registered to vote, could have their votes disqualified if they did not cure their ballots within 30 days, narrowing a previous state court of appeals ruling that ordered the ballots cured within a few weeks.
Riggs has since brought the issue back to federal court. A federal trial court ruled on Saturday, in a separate order, that the State Board of Elections could not certify the election results for the time being.
“A partial dismissal of Jefferson Griffin’s groundless claims is not a win,” Democratic State Rep. Pricey Harrison said in a statement to TPM. “This is about much more than Justice Riggs. It is about our democracy. When any number of voters are disenfranchised, everyone loses, especially those who volunteered to serve our country. Justice Riggs is not just fighting for herself, she is fighting for every single voter in North Carolina and the U.S. in both this election and future elections.”
The state Election Board is expected to determine a more precise number of military and overseas voters that will be impacted by this decision Tuesday, but because Riggs’ margin of victory is so small — 734 ballots — the ruling has the potential to upend an election that Riggs has already won.
“Griffin has tried to expand the number of overseas voters that are included in the protest, and it’s unclear which he has actually gotten into the case, and which he’s just attempted to get into the case,” Policy Director with Common Cause North Carolina Ann Webb said in an interview with TPM. “But it does seem like there’s a potential for more votes than maybe we know or we would like … that would be counted in those overseas or military votes.”
At a rally on Monday in response to the legal developments, Riggs told supporters that she will fight for voters whose eligibility is now in question.
“Those who raised their hand and got first in line to serve their county should not now be first in line to have their votes tossed,” she told rallygoers this week.
David Levine, senior fellow at the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement told TPM that this latest ruling will “create a precedent where if voters follow the rules and cast a ballot according to the rules, they could retroactively be disenfranchised.”
“Even if this decision is ultimately held to be unconstitutional, the fact that we’re now going through this exercise of trying to get some of these voters to track their stuff down could create real doubt in many North Carolinians minds about the integrity of this election, even if ultimately these votes are still ultimately all counted as they should be,” added Levine.
The latest developments are part of a larger months-long GOP-led legal battle to steal an election from Riggs’ whose victory has already been confirmed by two recounts — one partial and one full.
In response to Riggs winning the election, Griffin filed baseless voter challenges against more than 60,000 ballots in a blatant attempt to overturn the results of a fair election.
Election experts have previously emphasized to TPM that any registration issues, like the ones alleged by Griffin, would have been resolved years before November’s election, and not after it.
Griffin has also never shown any evidence that any of the ballots he is challenging are actually ineligible for any reason.
The Republican Party exists no more:
^This^right^here. Where’s your beef Griffin? Show us the beef!
Ironically, the Dem’s vote ratio will likely increase with any of these votes not counted, since military personnel are generally more likely to vote Republican.
(ETA: I forgot that they, of course, cherry-picked only Dem stronghold counties. But, it could still end up increasing the spread for the Dem overall.
If this “curing” happens - and it should not! - let’s hope that is the case.
And, then taunt these motherfuckers mercilessly and incessantly if so.)
" When any number of voters are disenfranchised, everyone loses, especially those who volunteered to serve our country"
It’s not a good look for the Conservative Republicans who drape the flag upon their shoulders, yet want to deny the vote to people in uniform. But I guess they are just following the lead of the their convicted felon leader who called the Vets, like my late husband, suckers and losers…
Also, is it just me or aren’t anonymous ballots separated from envelopes?
How in the world will they know whose ballot is whose if this is the case?
If they aren’t anonymous, then what you’re saying is that there’s a way to track for whom each person voted.
That seems, ummmmmm, dangerous right now.