State appeals court rules contested North Carolina ballots must be verified

 The 60,000 contested ballots in the North Carolina state Supreme Court race should be recounted and verified, according to a ruling Friday from a panel of the state appeals court. 

The 2-1 ruling is a win for Republican state Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, who is trailing incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs by fewer than 1,000 votes. 

Riggs and the Democratic Party declared victory months ago after all the votes counted had her ahead, but Griffin has challenged the validity of certain ballots for various reasons, pursuing a lawsuit that’s prevented the state elections board from certifying Riggs as the winner five months after Election Day. 

Multiple recounts confirmed Riggs’s lead, but Griffin has argued the 60,000 ballots are invalid because these voters didn’t include certain information like driver’s license or Social Security numbers on their registration forms. He’s also challenged an additional 5,500 ballots from military and overseas voters on the grounds that they didn’t present a photo ID upon voting. 

The ruling granted these voters whose ballots have been challenged 15 business days to provide verifying information proving their eligibility to vote. Any voters who verify their identity within that period will have their votes counted, and those who do not will have their ballots thrown out, the ruling states. 

Riggs’s campaign vowed to appeal the ruling, calling it “deeply misinformed” and arguing it would set a dangerous precedent of allowing politicians to “thwart the will of the people.” 

“North Carolinians elected me to keep my seat and I swore an oath to the constitution and the rule of law — so I will continue to stand up for the rights of voters in this state and stand in the way of those who would take power from the people,” Riggs said.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said the “partisan” ruling has no legal basis and threatens the idea that voters, not courts, choose the winner of elections.

“North Carolinians chose Allison Riggs to be their North Carolina Supreme Court justice,” he said. “They won’t stand for Republicans trying to take their votes away or those of active duty North Carolina military.”

The state GOP celebrated the ruling, saying it “vindicated” Griffin’s protests and confirms that every legal vote will be counted. 

“Our position has not wavered and today’s decision confirms the facts were on Judge Griffin’s side,” said state GOP Chairman Jason Simmons. “This a victory for the rule of law and election integrity.” 

Democratic Judge Toby Hampson dissented, arguing that Griffin hasn’t identified any voter who is ineligible to vote under the rules of the election. 

“Changing the rules by which these lawful voters took part in our electoral process after the election to discard their otherwise valid votes in an attempt to alter the outcome of only one race among many on the ballot is directly counter to law, equity, and the Constitution,” Hampson wrote. 

A 2002 state law requires voters to include their driver’s license or Social Security number on the registration application, but the form didn’t specify that this information was needed until last year. The state elections board has also previously ruled that military and overseas voters were exempt from the state’s voter ID law. 

A county superior court judge previously rejected Griffin’s arguments in February before the appeals court ruled in his favor. 

Presuming the case is appealed, it would go to the state Supreme Court, which has a 5-2 Republican majority. But with Riggs recusing herself from the case, it would be a 5-1 court hearing it. 

If the court hears the case and is split 3-3, the next highest court’s ruling would stand, meaning the appeals court ruling would go into effect.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5232799-north-carolina-appeals-court-ruling/