Summary: Judge Jefferson Griffin lost to Supreme Court Justice Allison Rigg in last November’s election, but is trying to get 60,000 votes thrown out so he can reverse the result.

The facts: After two recounts, incumbent Supreme Court Justice Allison Rigg, a Democrat, was declared the winner of that race, with 734 more votes than challenger Judge Jefferson Griffin, a Republican. The State Board of Election certified that result, but Mr. Griffin appealed to the State Supreme Court, which has a 5-2 Republican majority, and they blocked that certification. Mr. Griffin is asking that 60,000 ballots be thrown out because of a variety of concerns, primarily that the state didn’t collect sufficient data from the voters in question.

Our Assessment: This seems to us like a blatant power grab, an attempt to change voting rules after an election in order to change the result. We encourage everyone to check to see if they are one of the voters whose ballot is in danger of being thrown out.

Things to do: We are sharing instructions from the League of Women Voters: Please review the list of 60,000 voters, sorted by county, and fill out this form if you or someone you know is on the list.

Report Back

Update 5/12/25: Griffin concedes the race. You can read more here.

Update 5/6/25: A Federal judge has sided with Riggs and rejected Griffin’s arguments for throwing out certain ballots. Griffin has seven days to appeal. You can read more here.

Update 4/21/25: The North Carolina State Board of Elections reduced the number of overseas ballots that could still be contested, allowing only those from Guilford County. You can read more here.

Update 4/7/25: A three-judge panel in the North Carolina appeals court ruled Friday, April 4, that tens of thousands of votes were invalid in the state’s Supreme Court election. Voters have 15 days to fix their ballots. The Rigg campaign has appealed the decision. You can read more here.

Update 2/10/25: A federal appeals court ruled against Griffin, but his campaign is appealing the verdict. You can read more here.