Federal judge orders NC Supreme Court election plan to proceed
A federal judge has ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to proceed with a plan the state Supreme Court set out for resolving an election dispute over a seat on the state’s high court. The federal order blocks election officials from certifying the race’s results.
US Chief District Judge Richard Myers issued two orders in the case Saturday. Myers responded to Justice Allison Riggs’ emergency motion Friday seeking an injunction against her colleagues’ plan.
Riggs, an appointed incumbent and the Democratic candidate in the 2024 election, leads Republican Jefferson Griffin, a state Appeals Court judge, by 734 votes out of more than 5.5 million ballots cast last fall. Griffin challenged more than 65,000 ballots cast in the race. A Jan. 7 order from Riggs’ colleagues has blocked the elections board from certifying her as the contest’s winner.
The state Supreme Court agreed unanimously Friday to reject Griffin’s challenge of more than 60,000 ballots cast by people who appeared to have incomplete voter registration records.
The court split, 4-2, on two other sets of ballot challenges. Justices upheld the state Appeals Court’s decision to throw out votes from voters who never have lived in North Carolina. The Supreme Court also endorsed the Appeals Court’s plan to give overseas voters time to provide evidence of photo identification to have their ballots counted.
https://www.carolinajournal.com/federal-judge-orders-nc-supreme-court-election-plan-to-proceed/