Griffin seeks NC Supreme Court stay, elections board appeals to 4th Circuit

Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin is asking that court for a temporary stay blocking certification of his election against appointed incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs. Meanwhile, the State Board of Elections is asking the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals to step into the dispute.

Griffin and the state elections board are seeking competing actions from the state and federal court systems after US Chief District Judge Richard Myers’ decision Monday to remand, or send back, Griffin’s election complaint to the state Supreme Court.

Without a court order, the elections board is scheduled Friday to certify Riggs as the winner of the Nov. 5 election. Riggs leads Griffin by 734 votes out of more than 5.5 million ballots cast. But Griffin is challenging more than 60,000 ballots cast statewide.

Griffin seeks a state Supreme Court order blocking the elections board from taking action to certify the election. The board is asking the 4th Circuit to revisit Myers’ decision to send the case from federal court to state court. Activist groups and voters working with Democratic operative Marc Elias’ law firm also seek action from the 4th Circuit.

“Now that the case is back in this Court, an immediate stay is necessary,” Griffin’s lawyers wrote Monday evening in a state Supreme Court filing.

“To date, the State Board has taken every step possible to prevent our state courts from deciding the state-law questions that Judge Griffin has raised. Judge Griffin anticipates that the Board will continue to do so unless it is stopped. Not five hours after the remand order was entered on 6 January 2025, the Board had already filed a notice of appeal, and will no doubt seek to have this Court enjoined from proceeding, despite the unprecedented nature of the Board’s arguments,” the court filing continued.

“Without an immediate stay of certification by the Board — one issued as early as possible — the Board is likely to find new obstacles that procedurally bar any court from reaching the merits of Judge Griffin’s election protests. While Judge Griffin continues to clear the procedural obstacles thrown up by the Board, the Board will press toward certifying the election. An immediate stay is necessary to protect this Court’s certain jurisdiction to consider the petition for a writ of prohibition,” Griffin’s lawyers wrote.

Griffin filed paperwork on Dec. 18 asking the state Supreme Court to issue a writ of prohibition to block certification of the election result. The state board removed the case to federal court the following day.

The case sat in Myers’ court until his ruling Monday evening.

“In this removed state action, a sitting state court judge seeks a writ of prohibition (a form of judicial relief authorized by the state constitution) from the state supreme court that would enjoin the state board of elections from counting votes for a state election contest that were cast by voters in a manner allegedly inconsistent with state law,” Myers wrote in a 27-page order. “Should a federal tribunal resolve such a dispute? This court, with due regard for state sovereignty and the independence of states to decide matters of substantial public concern, thinks not.”

Myers “abstains from deciding Griffin’s motion” and “remands this matter to North Carolina’s Supreme Court,” the order explained.

The post Griffin seeks NC Supreme Court stay, elections board appeals to 4th Circuit first appeared on Carolina Journal.