Republican Jefferson Griffin, who narrowly lost his bid for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, has sparked controversy by attempting to invalidate 60,000 ballots based on a theory widely criticized as a form of voter suppression—even by some election skeptics.
Controversial Court Decision Makes Way for Griffin's Challenge
The North Carolina Supreme Court issued an order on January 7, 2025, preventing state officials from certifying Democratic Justice Allison Riggs as the winner of a closely contested race for the state’s high court. This decision comes despite a full machine recount and a partial hand recount that confirmed Riggs leading Griffin by 734 votes out of more than 5.5 million ballots cast.
In a 4-2 decision, the state Supreme Court—with all but one Republican justice voting in favor—blocked the North Carolina State Board of Elections from certifying the results. Justice Riggs recused herself from the vote, given her involvement in the race.
This ruling sets the stage for Griffin’s challenge to proceed before the same court he hopes to join. His challenge aims to disqualify 60,000 votes cast during the November election, arguing that they fail to meet state registration requirements.
"An Attempt to Change the Rules After the Game is Played"
Griffin’s challenge hinges on an election denier theory that critics, including many conservatives, have decried as unprecedented and harmful to voter confidence. His argument targets ballots cast by voters whose registrations lacked a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number.
State election officials have clarified that such omissions often result from administrative errors rather than voter misconduct. These voters, many of whom registered using alternative documents like utility bills, were still required to verify their identity before voting.
“This is essentially an attempt to change the rules after the game has been played,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “It’s unprecedented and undermines the integrity of the electoral process.”
Former Republican state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr echoed this sentiment, criticizing the lack of evidence to support Griffin’s claims. “If you honestly think illegal votes have been cast, it’s legitimate to try to prove that,” Orr said. “But the bottom line is: Did anyone vote illegally? At this point, no. We’re weeks past the election, multiple recounts have been conducted, and there’s no evidence.”
Baseless Theory at the Heart of the Challenge
Griffin’s argument originates from a theory championed by Carol Snow, a self-described election denier and activist. Snow has claimed that incomplete voter registration records enable fraudulent voting, but neither she nor her supporters have provided evidence of widespread voter fraud. Her efforts, including filing extensive records requests, have been dismissed by legal experts and election officials as baseless.
“The state’s database issues do not equate to voter fraud,” attorneys for the state election board stated in response to a related lawsuit.
Griffin’s challenge reflects a broader trend of using unsubstantiated claims to question the validity of elections.
Riggs’ campaign manager has urged Griffin to concede, emphasizing that “North Carolina voters have already spoken.”
