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7h ago

Federal Judge Orders Certification of North Carolina Supreme Court Race for Democrat Allison Riggs

Judge Richard E. Myers ruled that discarding ballots months after the election violates constitutional protections, affirming Riggs’s 734-vote victory with a seven-day stay for appeal.

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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)
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Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers directed the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Allison Riggs's 734-vote victory in the 2024 Supreme Court race.
  • The ruling blocks efforts by Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin to invalidate tens of thousands of ballots based on technicalities, including military and overseas absentee votes.
  • Myers found that retroactively discarding ballots would violate voters' due process and equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution.
  • The judge stayed the order for seven days to allow Griffin to appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, with his legal team currently assessing next steps.
  • This decision addresses concerns over retroactive election rule changes and voter disenfranchisement, reinforcing the principle that election rules cannot be altered post-vote.