The North Carolina Supreme Court issued an order blocking the certification of Democratic Justice Allison Riggs as the winner of a close election against Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin. In a 5-1 decision, the court’s Republican majority halted the State Board of Elections from certifying the results, where Riggs leads by just 734 votes out of over 5.5 million cast. Riggs recused herself from the ruling. Griffin is challenging around 60,000 votes, alleging improper voting practices, including claims that voters lacked necessary identification. The state elections board, which has a Democratic majority, previously dismissed Griffin’s protests. After a federal court remanded the case to state jurisdiction, the state Supreme Court agreed to hear Griffin’s claims and established a deadline for legal briefs by January 24. The dissenting opinion from the sole Democratic justice highlighted concerns about undermining democratic processes. Former Governor Roy Cooper criticized the Republican justices, asserting that their actions aimed to discard legitimate votes due to their discontent with the election outcome, emphasizing the need to respect and uphold every vote in the electoral process.
