Overview

• Democrat Allison Riggs won the North Carolina Supreme Court race by 734 votes after recounts and a prolonged legal dispute over 65,000 ballots.
• Republican Jefferson Griffin challenged the election results, citing alleged irregularities, but federal Judge Richard Myers ruled such retroactive changes unconstitutional.
• Griffin formally conceded the race on Wednesday, ending six months of litigation and confirming Riggs’s eight-year term on the state’s highest court.
• The state elections board is scheduled to certify Riggs’s victory, solidifying a liberal majority on the court with significant implications for redistricting and legislative oversight.
• The protracted legal battle raised concerns over electoral integrity, judicial independence, and public trust in democratic processes in a key battleground state.