North Carolina Supreme Court GOP Candidate Challenges 60K Ballots

As the recount in North Carolina’s state Supreme Court race gets underway, Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin is challenging the validity of tens of thousands of ballots statewide.

One of two Democrats on the seven-member high court, Associate Justice Allison Riggs, is locked into a tight race with appeals court judge Griffin (R). Griffin was leading on Election Day, but Riggs is ahead by roughly 625 votes.

On Tuesday, Griffin requested a recount. He also filed challenges to over 60,000 ballots, according to a release from the North Carolina Republican Party. The release said Griffin’s protests focus on “specific irregularities and discrepancies in the handling and counting of ballots, raising concerns about adherence to established election laws.”

“As North Carolinians, we cherish our democratic process. Protecting election integrity is not just an option—it’s our duty,” Griffin said. “These protests are about one fundamental principle: ensuring every legal vote is counted.” 

A review of the challenges filed with the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) found that Griffin targeted ballots cast by people with prior felony convictions, ballots cast by people whose voter registration may be incomplete and absentee ballots cast by voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), a federal 1986 law that grants some U.S. citizens living overseas the right to vote. Before the election, the Republican National Committee tried but failed to block certain overseas ballots from being counted.

On X, Riggs said Tuesday that Griffin was “taking a tired page from the playbook of previous failed candidates.”

“He’s filed more than 300 protests to challenge 60,000 ballots across NC, in an attempt to disenfranchise voters,” she said. “My goal has always been to ensure that every voter’s voice is heard.”

On Monday, Griffin sued NCSBE over requests he made to the board for voting-related data. Griffin wanted the board to send him lists of “conflict voters” (voters suspected of casting a ballot in person and via absentee). He also asked for lists on how many voters have felony convictions. A board spokesman said the complaint was “unnecessary.”

Recounts began Nov. 20 and will be completed by Nov. 27, according to a Nov. 15 memo Executive Director Karen Brison Bell sent to county elections boards. Recounts are open to the public, the memo stated, and “any person may attend the recount,” including the candidates and the media. A NCSBE meeting was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Read more about the challenges here.