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The North Carolina Republican Party’s latest ploy to steal a seat on the state Supreme Court.

The North Carolina Republican Party’s latest ploy to steal a seat on the state Supreme Court.

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After counting votes for nearly two weeks, Democratic Judge Allison Riggs won her election to the North Carolina Supreme Court by just 734 votes. But Riggs’ opponent, Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, is trying to reverse his loss. challenging an unprecedented 60,000 votes in state court.

Democrats, however, have filed a lawsuit in federal court, where judges resolved many of the issues at hand before the election. Griffin knows federal law is supreme, but he is now pressuring his allies in state courts to step in and resolve his challenges. The federal judicial process must be developed to ensure that North Carolina voters are not disenfranchised in one of the most important state races of the 2024 election season.

Griffin’s challenges, which were rejected by the state elections board on Wednesday, are based on theories that have been rejected by state and federal officials, both Republicans and Democrats. He is expected to appeal the decision in state court.

The North Carolina Democratic Party has filed a federal lawsuit to protect the rights of the 60,000 voters who would be disenfranchised if the state accepts Griffin’s arguments. The party’s lawsuit alleges that granting Griffin’s requests would violate the 14th Amendment and the Help America Vote Act by throwing away ballots before giving voters a chance to be heard.

The party notes that Griffin does not challenge the eligibility of individual voters. Instead, he is trying to change the rules of the game, after having lost. And it’s worth noting that research by democracy activist Bob Hall found that Griffin was much more likely to challenge votes cast by black voters.

Griffin maintains that some votes should not count because voter registration forms did not include a Social Security or state identification number, as required by federal law. But it ignores other provisions of the law that say a voter can also provide an identification number or identification document when voting. The state elections board voted unanimously (Republicans and Democrats) to keep these voters on the rolls.

In fact, a federal judge appointed by President-elect Donald Trump rejected this argument before the elections. And he warned that a ruling prohibiting hundreds of thousands of people from voting, just days before the election, “would significantly alter the allocation of power… distancing them from a democratic form of government.” the 4th The United States Court of Appeals for the Circuit affirmed this decision.

The 60,000 voters questioned by Griffin, who is a member of the National Guard, also include thousands of foreign voters. Federal law protects the rights of overseas voters and does not require them to provide voter identification. But Griffin argues that these voters should have provided a copy of their IDs, because the state’s voter ID statute does not explicitly exempt them from the ID mandate.

Before the election, Republicans filed a lawsuit in state court challenging foreign voters, including adult children of soldiers stationed overseas, voting in North Carolina. a judge refused to purge these voters. His ruling clearly stated: “This court’s equitable discretion should not be invoked to treat an entire group of citizens differently based on speculative and baseless accusations for which there is not even a shred of substantial evidence.” And when the GOP asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to intervene, the justices refused to declare these voters ineligible to cast their ballots.

Griffin filed his own lawsuit on Friday. requesting an order from his colleagues at the Court of Appeal who demanded that the electoral board decide their challenges by 5 pm on Tuesday. His colleagues refused to do so, but a lower court is hearing their claims. Throughout the election, Griffin sued election officials, claiming they are moving too slowly.

Republicans are now flirting with election denialism because of the way the votes were counted. Griffin gained more votes in his favor after Election Day, but Riggs took a narrow lead when provisional votes were counted. Phil Berger, Republican leader of the state Senate and father of Riggs’ colleague on the high court, described the fair count like “another episode of ‘Count down until someone you want to win’ wins.’ What actually happened was that election officials had many more provisional ballots to count this year, thanks to the Legislature’s new voter ID law.

Despite Griffin’s insistence on speed, he’s not even contesting his challenges at the Board of Elections. His petition notes that he waived his “right to present arguments” before the board. Griffin wants state court judges to rule after the election that tens of thousands of voters were ineligible and that their votes should not count. He’s simply raising baseless theories and hoping the Republican judges in Raleigh will bail him out.

It’s obvious why, despite all the federal issues, Griffin is in such a hurry to get this matter decided in state court. The Republican majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court is arguably the most partisan majority on a high court in the country. A judge, Phil Berger Jr., has repeatedly heard lawsuits against his father, Senate Leader Phil Berger, and ruled in his favor. The chief justice has made multiple contributions to non-judicial Republican candidates, another blatant violation of ethical standards. And Judge Tamara Barringer is a former Republican legislator. These judges have approved voter suppression by the Republican Legislature, nullified early voting for help Trump’s presidential campaignand legalized tampering, a ruling that handed control of Congress to the Republican Party in this year’s elections.

The closest historical parallel to Griffin’s end among voters is the 2004 race for superintendent of public instruction. The Republican candidate lost by about 8,500 votes and later contested more than 11,000 votes. There was a long legal battle, until The legislature intervened and declared the Democrat the winner at the end of 2005.

Like Trump in 2020, North Carolina Republicans are casting doubt on the outcome of this year’s state Supreme Court election because they lost. Griffin is trying to use lawfare to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. This attempt to undo the election result is just another example of how Republicans refuse to accept the outcome of the election they lost.

In the coming weeks, the state Supreme Court could try to undo Riggs’ victory and nullify the votes of tens of thousands of people. Federal judges have already resolved most of these issues, but Griffin wants his allies on the state Supreme Court to quickly install him as one of their own.

Riggs’ campaign encourages people to Find out if they are among the 60,000 challenged voters and, if they are, talk about it. As one voter, Ben Webb, said, Griffin is cheating. Webb said: “He’s throwing everything he can against the wall and hoping his friends will find a way to put him in office. It is immoral and unethical.”