Background on Jefferson Griffin's shameless attack on our votes
Based on all previous election law, federal voting rights, and after multiple legitimate recounts, Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs defeated challenger Jefferson Griffin in the November 2024 election. Unfortunately, Griffin wants to win through court cases by finding spurious reasons to disqualify over 65,000 votes that were cast legally (and not even attempting to do so in a consistent way --there is no authentic concern about registration inconsistencies or nuances of the law; this is the raw and shameless pursuit of power to the detriment of our democracy).
Update 5/7/2025
A federal judge ruled that votes could not be disqualified after the election, especially not in an arbitrary, selective manner that did not protect equal access. And finally, finally, FINALLY, Jefferson Griffin conceded the race to winner Allison Riggs. Read the latest report from public radio WFDD: https://www.wfdd.org/story/republican-concedes-long-unsettled-north-carolina-court-election-democratic-incumbent
Update 4/25/2025
On April 25, Riggs joined the NC Dems, Carolina Federation, and Down Home NC to report on efforts to defend the voters from the ongoing attempts by the losing candidate Jefferson Griffin to throw out specific votes by voters who did nothing wrong, specifically targeting Democratic-leaning areas and voters most likely to be young, African American, or female. This case has gone through many court hearings with varying rulings. Currently, the 4th Circuit Court at the federal level has paused any attempt to enforce the NC Supreme Court’s recent ruling, so no votes have yet been disqualified and the race is still not final, six months after we voted. Pursuing this case through the courts is essential to protect all voters here and in other states because if Jefferson Griffin succeeds in disenfranchising any legal vote, it will encourage other politicians across the country to use the courts as a way to win elections, rather than honor the will of the people. This is a fight to get every vote to count, whether the voter supported Riggs or not. As Cat Lawson, Director of Voter Protection for the NC Dems explains: “You cannot break democracy in order to save it.” Though the NC Dems are leading this defense, this is very much a nonpartisan issue that needs our ongoing attention and support. If you would like to stay informed and involved, you can sign up at ncdp.org/protectthevote
Update: 4/12/2025 The NC Supreme Court denied part of Griffin's attempt to reject legal votes, but did support the Republican-dominated Court of Appeals's willingness to help Griffin take away the vote from overseas/military voters and from voting-age children of NC residents living abroad. Riggs's attorneys have asked for an injunction to prevent this part of the Appeals Court ruling to go forward (likely considering an appeal to federal courts). If anyone is near Raleigh on Monday, April 14, there will be a rally on behalf of North Carolina voters harmed by Jefferson Griffin. https://www.mobilize.us/megaphonenc/event/774603/
Update 4/7/2025: Last week, a Republican majority panel of the NC Court of Appeals sided with losing Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin’s claim that he should be allowed to challenge 65,000 voters due to clerical errors. The court’s order was stayed by the NC Supreme Court today. Winning incumbent Justice Allison Riggs will fight this case to the NC Supreme Court and the federal court if needed, so there is no current action on these challenges. Thanks to her history fighting for voting rights, Justice Riggs’s team is pushing for a system in which voters have a way to verify their registrations are correct and that any corrections apply to their November 2024 votes. If you want to help in case a future court ruling requires action, sign up at ncdp.org/protect-the-vote
Update 4/6/2025: The panel of 3 judges, 2 Republican and 1 Democrat Judge Toby Hampson, ruled 2-1 to support Griffin's dubious claims that over 60,000 votes should be challenged and the court ruled that these voters had 15 days to fix their registrations. Judge Toby Hampson wrote a powerful dissent that you can find at this link to the court's opinion. You can hear Justice Allison Riggs response at this link she posted on Bluesky, where she confirms that they will continue to appeal this case and also that the court order is not yet in effect, but her team is committed to alert voters in a timely way to give them the chance to protect their right to vote from this Republican-led attack on everyone's right to vote in NC. If your vote is on the Griffin List of voters that Jefferson Griffin challenged, you should also keep an eye on reports from the NC State Board of Elections.
3/21/2025: You can watch via this youtube recording the March 21 hearing before the NC Court of Appeals. Here is a summary of the hearing: https://ncnewsline.com/2025/03/21/appeals-court-considers-whether-votes-in-nc-supreme-court-race-should-be-thrown-out/ A ruling may be released within the next month. The NC Dems held a follow-up report that is available on youtube as well.
Update on 3/19/2025: "A coalition of over 200 North Carolina jurists, senior state government officials, bar leaders, legal educators, and practicing attorneys issued a joint letter to Jefferson Griffin, urging him to drop his lawsuit challenging the 2024 election results for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court." Source Common Cause provided the full letter at this link.
Update on 3/7/2025: 42 former election directors and military leaders oppose Griffin's case, which would undermine the integrity of our elections. former-elections-directors-military-leaders-oppose-griffin-ballot-protests
Update on 3/12/2025: Griffin claims that it is not a conflict of interest for his friend on the Court of Appeals who GAVE MONEY TO FUND HIS COURT APPEAL to hear his case. We question how this Court of Appeals can retain any legitimacy if this occurs.
Read our report on the local rally to defend our votes, including stories from local voters whose legitimate votes are under attack.