Riggs’ lead drops by 67 votes as 60 counties complete NC Supreme Court recount

With 60 of North Carolina’s 100 counties completing recounts in a closely contested state Supreme Court race, appointed incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs’ lead has dropped by 67 votes over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin. Riggs still leads Griffin by 655 votes as the remaining counties continue their counts.

The count must be complete by Wednesday. Wake, Mecklenburg, and Guilford counties are among the counties yet to report recount results.

Griffin has gained a net of 17 votes among counties that have finished their work, including eight more votes in both Gaston and Person counties. Griffin lost 13 votes in Durham County.

Meanwhile, Riggs has lost a total of 50 votes. She lost 21 votes in Lenoir County and 14 in Durham. Riggs gained six votes in Watauga County.

As the recount continues, Griffin also is pursuing challenges of more than 60,000 votes statewide.

“As North Carolinians, we cherish our democratic process. Protecting election integrity is not just an option — it’s our duty,” Griffin said in a North Carolina Republican Party news release issued on Nov. 20. “These protests are about one fundamental principle: ensuring every legal vote is counted.” 

Griffin’s protests “highlight specific irregularities and discrepancies in the handling and counting of ballots, raising concerns about adherence to established election laws,” according to the Republicans’ release. “These challenges are part of a lawful and transparent process designed to uphold voter confidence in the system.”

The state Republican Party “fully supports” Griffin. “Every voter in North Carolina deserves confidence that our elections are conducted fairly and according to the law,” said NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons. “The integrity of the ballot box is the cornerstone of our democracy. Jefferson Griffin’s commitment to this process demonstrates his dedication to upholding the rule of law and protecting the voices of lawful voters.”

“This is about more than one election,” Griffin said. “It’s about preserving the integrity of elections for generations to come.”

Griffin “also pledged to follow it through to its rightful conclusion,” the Republican news release noted. Griffin, his team, and the NCGOP are “committed to working with election officials and legal experts to ensure fair resolution of these challenges.”

Final election-night totals showed Griffin leading by more than 10,000 votes. As counties counted provisional ballots and other votes not tallied on Nov. 5, Riggs overtook Griffin.

If Riggs wins, the state’s highest court will maintain its current roster of judges and its current 5-2 Republican majority. A Griffin win would shift the majority to a 6-1 Republican advantage. If Griffin loses, he still has four years remaining on his term as a member of the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

“At the time of writing this letter, the vote margin between me and my opponent, Associate Justice Allison Riggs, stands at 623 votes. This margin is less than 0.5% of the total votes cast in this race,” Griffin wrote in a two-paragraph letter seeking a statewide recount. (By the time the recount started, election officials listed Riggs as holding a 722-vote lead.)

“Accordingly, pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 163-182.7(c)(2), I request that a recount be conducted for the North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice race under the supervision of the North Carolina State Board of Elections throughout all 100 North Carolina counties,” Griffin added.

Griffin and the North Carolina Republican Party had filed suit on Nov. 18 and sought a temporary restraining order against the state elections board. The complaint alleged that the board had failed to turn over public records Griffin had requested as he considered whether to file election protests and seek a recount.

“As of this filing, there are four (4) significant requests relevant to the 2024 General Election that remain incomplete and outstanding from Defendant,” Republican lawyers wrote. “These requests relate to: (1) lists of conflict voters (i.e. those voters who are suspected to have voted both absentee and in-person); (2) those voters who utilized the curbside Election Day voting processes to complete their ballot; (3) full and complete lists of felony convictions, including full and complete replicas of datasets and guidance provided to each county board of elections related to felony convictions and treatment of votes cast by those convicted of a felony; and (4) full and complete lists of deceased persons, including full and complete replicas of datasets and guidance provided to each county board of elections related to deceased persons and treatment of votes cast by deceased persons.”

The elections board responded to Carolina Journal’s inquiry about the lawsuit Monday afternoon.

“The lawyers for this campaign demanded over the weekend that the requested records be produced by 7 a.m. today,” elections board spokesman Patrick Gannon wrote in an email to Carolina Journal on Nov. 18. “The law does not require that, but they filed a lawsuit this morning anyway. The State Board provided the requested records today. In fact, the lawyers for this campaign were informed this morning that the records would be provided today, but they served the agency with the lawsuit anyway. In sum, this lawsuit is thoroughly unnecessary.”

The post Riggs’ lead drops by 67 votes as 60 counties complete NC Supreme Court recount first appeared on Carolina Journal.