Over one hundred rally for the rights of voters under attack by Jefferson Griffin
Executive Director of Common Cause NC Bob Phillips spoke first, letting us know that this NC Supreme Court race was the last unresolved race in America. The race was very tight, and on election night, it looked as if Griffin had won. But after counting all the mail-in and provisional votes, Allison Riggs won re-election to the NC Supreme Court by 734 votes, a narrow win that was nonetheless upheld by two subsequent recounts, the point in which candidates must concede defeat. In this case, Griffin chose to try his luck with the court systems. Bob clarified that Griffin's lawyers never claim that any of the 60,000 voters aren't registered voters; instead they use loopholes such as the fact that the registration forms changed since the time the voter registered or that overseas voters weren't told they didn't have to mail in photocopies of their driver's licenses. These voters did nothing wrong, and they thad every right to vote in the election.
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| Bob Phillips, photo by Lonnie Webster |
547 voters in our county are part of what is known as the Griffin List (you can search to see if you are on there via this website), including, Bob explained, two 93-year-olds in Zionville who have been voting all their lives. He asked us to imagine how that must have felt to learn that suddenly Jefferson Griffin was telling them they didn't count. 73% of Watauga County voters who are being challenged are aged 18-24, he added, and there is a clear intent to disenfranchise younger voters. "All were allowed to cast votes under the law," Bob stressed. "He can’t come up with one voter that isn’t legitimate." Instead, he wants to take advantage of the hyper-partisan North Carolina Court of Appeals and NC Supreme Court, in which his party holds almost all of the seats. Currently, the case may go before the Court of Appeals in March, though Riggs and the Board of Elections want to bypass this step to go straight to the Supreme Court.
Right now, "there's not a lot we can do but raise our voices," he said. "Ask our representatives to speak out for us. If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. We want to protect our democracy."
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| Jamie Wilson, photo by Lonnie Webster |
Resident Jeff Deal spoke next, saying that his vote was one of the ones on the list to be challenged. He has been voting for thirty years, and he was so angry, amazed that this could happen. "The vote is the most sacred part of our democracy," he said. "It seems like a criminal act to challenge it. How could someone wanting to be a judge be behind this?"
Next came Blowing Rock voter Joellen, who said she had voted 38 times in the past and never had a problem. When she first found out, she went to the Board of Elections but then found out there was nothing she could do to protect her vote. "I was angry. I couldn’t believe someone could do that with a legitimate voter.
Pam Williamson then shared insights from her work on the nonpartisan voting rights task force in Watauga County. She told the story of their fight in 2019 to stop the Board of Elections from taking away our most popular voting site, winning against a highly partisan state board of elections, NC Court of Appeals, and NC Supreme Court. "They are always telling us we can’t win. We say it doesn’t matter if we win or lose. We just have to drag them into the light." She continued: "We believe in the nonpartisan right of all voters to have their votes count: Every voice counts and every valid vote must be counted." She stressed that all the experts say these votes were legitimate. The voters did nothing wrong. And she asked us if Griffin would have challenged any of these voters if he had won the election? She warned that if Jefferson Griffin wins through the courts, there will be repercussions statewide and nationwide. "Voters won’t know if their vote will count. And candidates will just sue if they lose. It matters that we stand up every time."
Blowing Rock resident Judy W. spoke next. "I was so upset and angry. I've lived in Blowing Rock for 13 years. Why now? This came as a gut punch. Voting is one way to make our voices heard, and this opportunity was taken away from me."
Michael Coston who grew up in this area spoke next, sharing his anger at having his vote challenged after voting several times in the past. He said this was "a clear attempt to make me question the validity of our elections," then asked, "What will this mean for our future elections?"
Appalachian state professor Dr Karl Campbell provided historical context to this situation, that it is not about "Republicans or Democrats but about who is in power." He pointed to the ways that after the founding of this country North Carolina found ways to disenfranchise voters who didn't own land, or later after the Civil War, even though the 15th Amendment gave the right to vote to all men, regardless of race, North Carolina legislators passed laws such as literacy tests to disenfranchise Black voters. "This is an old and long story," he said. He then paraphrased Abraham Lincoln's speech during the Civil War, that this country is dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal...that government of the people and by the people and for the people should not perish from the earth. "Here we are," he said, "And this is what we have to do to protect our right to vote....let us hope that democracy will prevail."
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| Dr. Karl Campbell, photo by Lonnie Webster |
"Shame on Griffin!" was the rally chant following this speech.
After the speakers there was time for questions. From that discussion, a few points became clear.
*The strategy Griffin is pursuing was initially attempted prior to the election (and rejected by all courts and governing bodies)--presumably a back-up plan in case Trump lost the election in NC. Surprised by his narrow loss, Griffin latched onto this plan.
*If these votes are successfully disqualified, it only affects Jefferson's race, none of the others that have already been certified.
*The case could go back to the federal courts after the NC Supreme Court rules.
*The voters affected across the state are disproportionately young and disproportionately Black.
*Only voters who voted early are affected by this challenge. Voters who voted on election day would not be affected, even though they may also have registered using the older registration cards. So this is not equal protection of the law, another reason it is astonishing that any judge could find Jefferson's case has merit.
*The NC legislature passed a law in December under the name of Hurricane support that was mostly a power grab to prevent the newly elected Governor from being allowed to use his constitutionally-assigned powers to fill empty seats in various state bodies. Stein is taking this to court with the support of every living previous NC Governor, both Republican and Democrat.
*The military service members overseas whose votes are being challenged (for voting by the rules for such votes) are only those who live in predominantly Democratic counties.
As Dr. Campbell pointed out, this kind of anti-democratic power grab has taken place in the past by members of varying parties. Right now in North Carolina, though, it is apparent that the Republican Party believes they should decide who is allowed to vote.
The main takeaway is that we should be telling everyone we can about what has happened and contacting all of our representatives on the state and local levels.
Here is a possible phone script, if you need one:
Hi, my name is ___ and I live in ___ zip code ____. I am so concerned about a case of blatant voter suppression taking place in my county and across the state in the meritless case being pushed by defeated candidate Jefferson Griffin. 60,000 people (over 500 in my county alone) did nothing wrong but are being told their votes may not count. I want to know what the representative/senator will do to protect our right to have our votes counted. (Wait to see if there is an answer) Please urge the representative/senator to respect the will of North Carolina voters and reject baseless attempts to disenfranchise 60,000 of our people.
A quick contact list (add them to your contacts if you haven't already!):
NC Representative Ray Pickett 919-733-7727
NC Senator Ralph Hise 919-733-3460
US Representative Virginia Foxx 202-225-2071 or Boone ofc 828-265-0240
Senator Ted Budd 202-224-3154
Senator Thom Tillis 202-224-6342