North Carolina Supreme Court Race Remains Tight Following Recount
The incredibly close North Carolina Supreme Court race continues as a machine recount of over 5.5 million ballots resulted in no change to the vote margin between the two candidates. Democrat Allison Riggs maintains a slim lead over her Republican challenger, Jefferson Griffin, with a difference of only 734 votes.
After Griffin led by approximately 10,000 votes on election night, the margin shifted in favor of Riggs following the counting of absentee and provisional ballots. Griffin requested a machine recount on November 19th, which ultimately confirmed the previous results.
Despite the recount results, the race is far from over. Griffin has requested a partial hand recount of ballots in 3% of voting locations across all 100 counties. This recount, which began on Tuesday or Wednesday, will be used to determine if a full statewide hand recount is necessary. The State Board of Elections will order a full hand recount "if the sample results differ enough from the machine recount that the result would be reversed if the difference were extrapolated to all ballots".
Riggs' campaign spokesperson Embry Owen called for Griffin to concede the race, saying that “losing candidates must respect the will of voters and not needlessly waste state resources”.
However, Griffin's campaign continues to challenge the validity of over 60,000 ballots, which could significantly impact the outcome of the race. Griffin's attorneys claim some ballots should be disqualified for a variety of reasons, including:
Lack of driver's license or partial Social Security numbers on voter registration records
Overseas voters who have never resided in North Carolina potentially violating state residency requirements
Ineligible votes cast by individuals who did not provide a driver's license or Social Security number during voter registration, had a felony conviction, or died between casting their ballot and Election Day
"Our priority remains ensuring that every legal vote is counted and that the public can trust the integrity of this election," said state Republican Party spokesperson Matt Mercer.
Griffin is also challenging a state law allowing individuals living overseas who have never resided in North Carolina to vote if their parents are registered voters in the state.
Adding another layer of complexity to the situation, Griffin filed a motion to disqualify a Democratic member of the State Board of Elections, Siobhan O'Duffy Millen, due to an alleged conflict of interest.. Griffin alleges a conflict of interest because Millen’s husband, Pressly Millen, previously represented Riggs in a legal matter concerning a campaign advertisement. Pressly Millen maintains that he does not represent Riggs in any matters currently before the board, stating that his firm has an "ethics screen" separating him from the case.
While a hearing has not yet been scheduled to determine Millen's recusal, the State Board of Elections will need to address this issue before making a final ruling on Griffin's protests. Griffin has requested that the board reach a decision on Millen’s recusal by Friday and issue a final decision on the protests no later than Monday, December 9th.
The outcome of this pivotal Supreme Court race will significantly impact the balance of the court. Currently, Democrats hold only two of the seven seats. A win for Riggs would still leave Republicans with a 5-2 majority but would provide Democrats with a better chance of regaining a majority in four years.
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