Republican asks NC Supreme Court to toss 60,000 questionable ballots in judicial race still too close to call
The Republican challenger in a race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court has asked that same court to toss tens of thousands of ballots he believes should not have counted.
On Wednesday, Judge Jefferson Griffin, who currently sits on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, filed a brief asking the state supreme court to invalidate an astonishing 60,000 votes.
Griffin contends that those ballots were cast by ineligible voters. They include: those who failed to provide a driver's license number or full Social Security number when registering to vote, those reportedly born of American parents but who have never lived in the U.S., and military and other overseas voters who failed to include a copy of their photo ID with their ballot.
Despite recounts, Griffin still trails incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs by fewer than 750 votes. For context, 5.5 million ballots were cast in North Carolina in the November election. Though Riggs has declared victory and called on Griffin to concede, the AP has yet to call the race.
'In the 2024 general election, the Board’s errors changed the outcome of the election for the open seat on this Court.'
The state elections board, made up of three Democrats and two Republicans, voted last week to dismiss Griffin's protest, ruling that no election irregularities appear to have occurred and no laws appear to have been broken. However, the board stopped short of declaring Riggs the winner, the News & Observer reported.
At the protest hearing, board Chair Alan Hirsch claimed that Griffin's request to disqualify ballots cast by registered voters "is anathema to the democratic system and simply cannot be tolerated."
Now, Griffin is pleading his case with the court he hopes to join.
"The state [elections] board is an administrative agency that has knowingly broken the law and refused to do anything about it," Griffin wrote in the supreme court filing. "Indeed, the Board has been breaking our election law for decades. This lawlessness was brought to the Board’s attention back in 2023, before the 2024 general election, but the Board refused to correct its errors. Now those chickens have come home to roost."
"In the 2024 general election, the Board’s errors changed the outcome of the election for the open seat on this Court."
Griffin is asking the court to refuse to allow Riggs to be certified as the winner and to suspend the 10-day deadline for him to file an appeal in Wake County. He has asked the court to rule on his case by Monday.
"The State Board of Elections has not been fair or transparent, and it is by their actions alone we have no other choice than to take this step," said a statement from North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Jason Simmons, according to WRAL. "Judge Griffin has led efforts to seek accountability and restore integrity while the state board has been dragging its feet and ignoring the law."
Though Riggs is a current member, the North Carolina Supreme Court may be more amenable to Griffin's arguments than the elections board. For one thing, Republican justices enjoy a strong 5-2 majority on the supreme court. Moreover, the state Democratic Party already sued in federal court last month to prevent the state's highest court from intervening in this election, fearing that it would side with Griffin and perhaps overturn Riggs' apparent victory.
"Griffin has refused to face reality and admit that he lost the Supreme Court race to Justice Allison Riggs," said a statement from Anderson Clayton, the chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party. "Instead, he has wasted taxpayer dollars, tried to toss out the ballots of over 60,000 North Carolinians, and attempted to find any way to overturn the will of the people."
A spokesperson for Riggs did not respond to WRAL's request for comment.
According to the outlet, the appeals process could draw this election out for weeks or even months. It is unclear whether Riggs will remain on the court should the process continue beyond the end of her term, which is set to expire in January.
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Kari Lake's opponent who dumped his pregnant wife may soon have his dirty laundry exposed
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) is competing with Kari Lake for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona. While recent polls show Gallego leading Lake by upward of 13 points, forthcoming revelations about the Democrat's murky past might help close the gap and deny him a future in the Senate.
The Washington Free Beacon filed a motion in January to unseal Gallego's 2017 divorce records, which were hidden from the public since he dumped his wife, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, when she was nine months pregnant.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday — days after Lake wrote, "Arizona deserves to know what he's hiding" — that the Democrat and his ex-wife can no longer keep their divorce records under wraps, which are now expected to come out before week's end.
The Free Beacon noted at the outset that something was unusual about the relatively heightened secrecy around the dissolution of Gallego's marriage:
Though both Ruben and Kate Gallego are public figures, public records and basic information on the internet about the circumstances of the divorce are scant, likely because the Gallegos or their allies have buried them. In Arizona, as in most states, court records—including those related to divorces—are generally accessible to the public. But in the Gallegos’ case, the entire docket is under seal, something incredibly unusual in a state where the sealing of information, if it happens at all, is typically limited to specific sensitive information.
The Free Beacon suggested further that the records were publicly relevant because both Gallegos held public office and Rep. Gallego had incorporated the divorce into his political backstory.
There was also the matter of where the couple filed for divorce.
While Arizona law requires that citizens file for divorce in that county where they presently live, the Free Beacon noted that the Gallegos lived in Maricopa County when they filed for divorce in Yavapai County.
The Gallegos resisted the push for transparency and fought to keep the records sealed.
'Congressman Gallego is not entitled to special privileges to secrecy in court records.'
The Yavapai County Superior Court agreed that the records should be unsealed but permitted the congressman an opportunity to propose redactions.
Superior Court Judge John Napper later rejected a number of Gallego's proposed redactions on July 3 and ordered that a version of the record be filed publicly.
Gallego, who told a fellow lawmaker "F*** your prayers" in 2022, appealed, claiming he and his ex-wife were seeking to protect their minor child. They secured a stay on July 30 from the state Court of Appeals. However, on Tuesday, the appellate court subsequently ordered that this stay be lifted on Oct. 17, prompting Gallego to seek the intervention of Arizona's Supreme Court.
The couple's lawyers suggested in their Tuesday motion to stay the appellate court's decision that the unsealing of the records would irreparably harm their privacy and safety rights.
According to the Tucson Star, the Free Beacon countered with a response stressing the Gallegos failed to meet the legal requirements to block the release of the file.
"That process will mean the media and the electorate get nothing from these presumptively public records until after all votes are cast," wrote Michael Edney, attorney for the Free Beacon. "That harm to the media and voters is time-sensitive and irreparable, starting a week ago with the commencement of early voting, a problem that will deepen each day until Nov. 5."
Edney added, "Congressman Gallego is not entitled to special privileges to secrecy in court records not afforded to other Arizona Citizens. If anything, the press and public have a heightened First Amendment interest in court records regarding public officials."
The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously rejected the couple's bid late Wednesday.
"The court concludes that the Gallegos have not established a strong likelihood of success on the merit," wrote Justice Clint Bolick. "Nor have they established irreparable harm with any degree of specificity if the stay is not granted."
Ahead of the unsealing, Rep. Gallego has been urging voters to turn in early ballots.
Early voting began in Arizona on Oct. 9.
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