“I am standing here today as your Supreme Court justice, but also as a daughter, a sister, and a proud North Carolinian who is committed to standing up for our service members and their families, just like they stand up for us,” Justice Riggs told supporters last Monday.
“Changing the rules after the election to throw out the votes of tens of thousands of North Carolinians who followed all of the rules is a travesty. Jefferson Griffin’s neverending legal assault is undermining people’s faith in elections and the courts. He lost and should concede.” Gov. Josh Stein wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The lawsuit was filed in response to the US Department of Health and Human Services announcing it was immediately terminating $11 billion in health care funding across the country, including more than $230 million in funding for North Carolina.
A photo has surfaced of Jefferson Griffin, who is seeking to throw out votes in order to win a seat on the state Supreme Court, wearing a Confederate uniform. According to The Associated Press, which obtained the photograph, Griffin is posing with other fraternity members before a confederate battle flag at its “Old South” ball in 2001.
“Our state has reliable procedures in place to ensure that the vote count is accurate. Those procedures were faithfully followed and confirmed that Jefferson Griffin lost the election,” said Marshall Hurley, former General Counsel for the NC Republican Party, in a press release. “It’s time for Judge Griffin to concede and allow our state to move forward”.
“Protect the legitimate ballots cast by over 65,000 North Carolinians, including those of our fellow service members and military families – we’re urging the North Carolina Court of Appeals to step up with us 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.”
As Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin sues to discard more than 65,000 ballots in the state Supreme Court race, questions around legal costs have been raised as the lawsuit has hit a four-month mark. Griffin’s legal defense fund has reportedly raised $17,200 and $14,000 in legal expenditures, according to The News & Observer. Amid Griffin running up an ever-increasing legal bill, one of his biggest donors is on the state Court of Appeals preparing to hear this case.
“Judge Griffin’s insistence on throwing out over 65,000 votes disregards the will of the people in service of a political power grab,” stated Kristi Graunke, legal director of the ACLU of North Carolina, in a press release. “Our judicial system is dependent on respecting the will of the people in choosing their judges. The ongoing effort to disqualify the ballots of eligible voters undermines the constitutional guarantee that ‘political power is vested in and derived from the people.’ North Carolina voters have spoken, it is time to respect their choice and move on.”
The case will now be with the 15-member Appeals Court. Last week, Riggs filed a motion for Judge Tom Murry, who is on the Court of Appeals, to recuse himself from the case. According to WUNC, Murry contributed $5,000 to a legal defense fund supporting Griffin’s ballot challenge to throw out 65,500 votes.
“We are protesting that he is holding this up,” Cathy Walsh with Common Cause NC, told WLOS. “It has cost thousands of dollars for each of the 100 counties in the state, the number of hours that have been wasted, it’s just disgraceful.”