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17h ago

Federal Judge Orders Certification of North Carolina Supreme Court Race After Ballot Dispute

Judge Richard E. Myers ruled that discarding ballots months after the election violates constitutional protections, affirming Allison Riggs's 734-vote victory pending appeal.

Allison Riggs, chief counsel of voting rights at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, attorney Neal Katyal and Kathay Feng, national redistricting director at Common Cause, speak to the media outside of the United States Supreme Court following oral arguments in Moore v. Harper, a Republican-backed appeal to curb judicial oversight of elections, in Washington, U.S., December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs speaks to protesters at a rally in Raleigh, N.C., on Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers directed the certification of Democrat Allison Riggs's 734-vote win in the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race, staying his ruling for seven days to allow for appeal.
  • Myers ruled that retroactively invalidating ballots six months after the election would violate voters' due process and equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution.
  • Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin sought to discard up to 65,000 ballots on technical grounds, but Myers's decision prevents any ballots from being removed.
  • The ruling highlights tensions between GOP-led state courts, which had previously ordered some ballots to be discarded, and federal courts emphasizing voter protections.
  • This race remains the final unresolved contest from the 2024 general election, with Griffin expected to appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.