ASHEBORO N.C. (ACME NEWS) — A full six months and two days after the election was held, and following months of legal challenges, Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin has conceded in the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race, ending the nation’s final uncertified race from last year’s election.
In mid April, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that over 60,000 ballots challenged by Griffin must be counted, determining that errors in voter registrations were ‘administrative mistakes’ made by election officials, not the voters. The court placed the remaining roughly 800 ballots, mostly made up of overseas military and resident voters, into a cure process.
Both Justice Riggs and Judge Griffin signaled plans to appeal:
– Riggs seeking to block the cure process altogether
– Griffin aiming to expand the number of ballots requiring verification.
A federal judge ultimately allowed the State Board of Elections to proceed with reviewing the contested ballots but barred the final certification of the race while the legal challenges played out.
On May 5, U.S. District Judge Richard Myers, a Trump appointee, ruled that disqualifying those ballots would violate voters’ constitutional rights and ordered the election certified in Riggs’ favor.
Later that same day, Griffin told a reporter his legal team was “reviewing the order and evaluating next steps.” However, In a statement on May 7, provided to The Associated Press by his campaign, Griffin said he would not appeal Monday’s decision conceding the race to Riggs and ending the nation’s final unresolved race from the 2024 election.
“While I do not fully agree with the District Court’s analysis, I respect the court’s holding — just as I have respected every judicial tribunal that has heard this case,” Griffin said. “I will not appeal the court’s decision.”
“Today we won,” said Riggs in a statement on BlueSky. “I’m proud to continue upholding the Constitution and the rule of law as a North Carolina Supreme Court Justice.”
The N.C. Board of Elections says no voters will need to cure their ballots. Following the court order, and without an appeal by Griffin, Riggs initial win in the election in November by just 734 votes, will stand and certification is expected after the court’s stay expires on May 12.
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