North Carolina Supreme Court halts election certification in associate justice race

RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — The North Carolina Supreme Court halted on Tuesday the election certification process for its associate justice seat, granting Judge Jefferson Griffin a temporary stay while legal proceedings in his challenge to ballots cast in the race are pending.

The state board of elections was expected to certify Griffin’s opponent, Democrat Supreme Court Associate Justice Allison Riggs’ win at the end of the week, but the process will be paused until the court lifts the stay preventing the race from being finalized, or until a higher court intervenes.

Griffin, a North Carolina Court of Appeals judge, has challenged over 60,000 ballots cast in his race against Riggs, and has asked the courts to step in and remove the disputed ballots from the final vote count. He strays Riggs in a race for the Supreme Court associate justice seat by 734 votes, despite two recounts.

Associate Justice Trey Allen, who wrote the order, said that despite an already-pending appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the court plans to address the issue expeditiously. The order established a briefing deadline of the end of January for the parties.

Riggs recused herself, and her fellow Democrat Associate Justice Anita Earls dissented, writing that the standard grounds for a temporary stay have not been met, as Griffin is unlikely to succeed on the merits of his case, and that the court should not “interfere with the ordinary course of democratic processes as set by statute and the state constitution.”

“The scope of what this will be if the court ultimately decides for Griffin is extraordinary, not just in terms of logistics, but in terms of trust in the system, and finances,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “Elections aren’t free.”

The race is important for Democrats, who are attempting to hold onto seats to eventually regain a majority, but not pivotal for Republicans, who currently hold a 5-2 majority on the court. Despite this, Griffin’s Republican colleagues may ultimately decide if Riggs maintains her seat, amidst vocal opposition from Democrats that disqualifying votes would be undemocratic.

“I think there’s some pretty clear partisan incentives,” said Cooper. “The state board of elections have majority Democratic control. The courts have majority Republican control. I think the math is pretty clear. What does he want? He wants to win the election, and the best odds for him to win the election at this point are to go through a system controlled by the Republican party rather than one controlled by the Democratic party.”

Griffin asked the state’s highest court to intervene in December, requesting that the state board of elections be prevented from certifying the election results and keep it from counting the ballots he disputes. He first filed over 60,000 election protests with the state board in conjunction with several Republican candidates trailing in their own races. The elections board dismissed those protests, and all other statewide races have been certified.

The case has ping-ponged through the courts since, with attorneys for the election board originally removing it to federal court after Griffin introduced it before the state Supreme Court. A federal judge found Monday that the Supreme Court was better suited to handle state statutory and constitutional questions, remanding it back.

The election board appealed the order to the Fourth Circuit the same night, and then filed a motion before the Fourth Circuit Tuesday, asking that it issue an immediate administrative stay and halt the lower court’s order to send the case to the state Supreme Court while the election board’s appeal processes.

Griffin has been asked to rapidly respond to the request, but the clerk warned that the court does not plan to discard its briefing schedule for the case, which would conclude in late March, unless requested to.

Riggs will continue in her position while litigation is ongoing, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert “Bob” Orr said Tuesday, and while the courts determine where jurisdiction is appropriate, and weigh the merits of the case.

The Fourth Circuit may claim federal jurisdiction, or, barring intervention from a higher court, the state Supreme Court may determine who fills one of its own seats.

“This shouldn’t be about party politics — this should be about making sure every vote counts and that our elections still mean something,” former Governor Roy Cooper said on X, formerly Twitter, voicing support for Riggs.

Representatives for the state board of elections and Riggs’ campaign did not reply to a request for comment.

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