In last November’s elections, there was a state Supreme Court race between Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs and Republican challenger Judge Jefferson Griffin. Riggs won the election by 734 votes – but wasn’t allowed to be sworn in until six months later in May 2025.
It’s normal for close elections to undergo a recount, but that’s not what delayed Riggs being seated for her new term – a statewide canvass, a statewide recount, and a partial hand-to-eye recount all confirmed Riggs’ victory relatively quickly. The delay was because North Carolina Republicans refused to accept they lost. Instead of graciously conceding, Griffin, the NCGOP, and the RNC (led by current U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley) targeted voters who had followed every rule, insisting they had done something wrong.
Their witch hunt targeted over 60,000 voters – many of whom were military members and veterans – to have their votes thrown out.
“These are legitimate ballots, many cast by service members and families like mine,” said Amanda Reeves, a former Air Force officer and military spouse, before court proceedings last fall. She urged the courts “to protect the rule of law, to protect the rights of our fellow citizens and their desire to participate in our democracy, and to protect our Constitution.”
Republicans on the state Supreme Court ignored the pleas of Reeves’ and thousands of other voters, and ruled that military and overseas voters would have a limited time period to provide further identification or have their vote thrown out. Fortunately before that could be implemented, a Trump-appointed federal judge stepped in and ruled that all votes must count with no further ado, and Riggs was eventually certified.
However, their failure to overturn the Supreme Court election has not stymied state Republicans from further meddling with elections. Just last week, Republicans in the state legislature passed North Carolina’s fifth Congressional map in six years in an explicit gerrymander that state Senate Leader Phil Berger, Sr. lauded as a means to “safeguarding Republican control of Congress.”
Republicans on the state Supreme Court (where Berger’s son, Phil Berger, Jr. sits) had earlier ruled to take away court oversight on political redistricting, allowing the gerrymandered maps to sail through in another unfortunate affirmation of Chief Justice Paul Newby’s claim that there is no guarantee of “fair” elections in North Carolina.
It’s clear that Republican leadership in the state is putting their political friends ahead of the people, with state Supreme Court justices, state legislative leaders, and U.S. Senate candidates greenlighting political manipulation of our democracy. North Carolinians deserve better.
