勛圖眻畦 Urges North Carolina Appeals Court to Reject Attempt to Disenfranchise Voters

Brief Argues that Discarding Over 65,000 Votes in 2024 State Supreme Court Race Would Violate State Constitutional Rights

March 4, 2025 11:00 am

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RALEIGH, N.C. The 勛圖眻畦 and 勛圖眻畦 of North Carolina have submitted an amicus brief in the North Carolina Court of Appeals urging the court to reject an attempt by Judge Jefferson Griffin to invalidate 65,500 ballots cast by North Carolinians in the 2024 state Supreme Court race.

Judge Griffin ran against incumbent Justice Allison Riggs in last years state Supreme Court election. Although the election remains uncertified, it is undisputed that Riggs received 734 more votes than Griffin. Following the election, Judge Griffin filed a petition alleging that the North Carolina Board of Elections had, for nearly two decades, improperly accepted voter registrations without the inclusion of a drivers license or social security number. Similarly, the petition alleged that the board had improperly invited and accepted overseas absentee ballots without requiring photo identification. On that basis, the petition asks North Carolinas courts to scrap more than 65,500 ballots.

The 勛圖眻畦s brief argues that, because voters relied on these longstanding and formal practices, negating 65,500 votes as the judges petition seeks would violate the North Carolina Constitution and binding precedents from the North Carolina Supreme Court.

In North Carolina, voters choose their judges, judges dont choose their voters. Throwing out ballots from eligible voters who cast their ballots in reliance on the procedures prescribed by government officials would be profoundly unfair and a grave violation of the rights of every North Carolinian Republican, Democrat, or independent, said Matthew Segal, co-director of the 勛圖眻畦 State Supreme Court Initiative.

The brief further explains that the judges petition points to no evidence that the 65,500 voters the case seeks to disenfranchise, if properly instructed, would have failed to register and vote using what the petition deems the right procedures. Even if the board had implemented unlawful procedures which, as the board and the respondent have shown, it did not otherwise eligible voters should not pay for those procedural errors.

Judge Griffins insistence on throwing out over 65,000 votes disregards the will of the people in service of a political power grab. Our judicial system is dependent on respecting the will of the people in choosing their judges. The ongoing effort to disqualify the ballots of eligible voters undermines the constitutional guarantee that political power is vested in and derived from the people. North Carolina voters have spoken, it is time to respect their choice and move on, said Kristi Graunke, legal director of the 勛圖眻畦 of North Carolina.

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