North Carolina court reviews GOP challenge to election results

A North Carolina appeals court is hearing a case that could change the outcome of a recent Supreme Court election. Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin lost to Democrat Justice Allison Riggs by just 734 votes in November 2024. He is challenging the validity of about 65,000 votes to try and overturn his loss. The three-judge panel, which includes two Republicans and one Democrat, listened to arguments for around 90 minutes. Griffin claims that the votes should be discarded because some voters did not provide necessary identification. However, the judges questioned whether he has proven these voters are ineligible to vote. Judge Toby Hampson asked how targeting specific votes might unfairly burden the broader electorate. Griffin’s lawyer argued that without these challenges, there would be no accountability for registration errors. The lawyers debated the difference between voter eligibility and proper registration. Judge John Tyson raised concerns about the responsibilities of voters and the issues within the state's voter registration records. Republican Judge Fred Gore expressed worries over persistent identification errors that have not been resolved. As this legal dispute continues into its fourth month, some North Carolinians are feeling anxious about the integrity of the electoral process. The case is expected to eventually move to the state Supreme Court.