Bipartisan group of lawmakers file brief opposing Republican in NC Supreme Court election dispute

03 January

In North Carolina, Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin has been trying to get an election dispute moved from federal court to state court. And he is getting pushback from both Democrats and fellow Republicans.

On the last day of 2024, a group of former Congress members — some Democratic and some GOP — filed a motion to submit an amicus brief in the lawsuit that Griffin, a North Carolina Supreme Court candidate, filed against the state's elections board.

According to North Carolina Journal reporting on New Year's Day 2025, "Griffin filed his complaint against the elections board with North Carolina's Supreme Court. The board removed the case the following day to federal court. Now, Griffin is asking U.S. Chief District Judge Richard Myers to remand, or send, the case back to the state court system."

The former lawmakers who asked to submit an amicus brief include former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) and former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri). The others included two more Democrats and three Republicans.

In their filing, the ex-Congress members noted that they "helped to pass the Help America Vote Act in 2002."

"This case presents a substantial federal question, which Congress intended to be addressed by a federal Court when it passed HAVA in 2002," they argued.

The North Carolina Journal reports, "Griffin, who serves as a judge on the (North Carolina) Court of Appeals, challenges more than 60,000 ballots cast in the recent state Supreme Court election. He trails appointed incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs by 734 votes in that election, which has not yet been certified."

PBS News' Stephanie Sy, in a New Year's Day report, emphasizes that the North Carolina Supreme Court election was quite close.

"After more than 5.5 million ballots were cast in the Tar Heel State," Sy explains, "this contest came down to 734 votes separating incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs from her Republican challenger, Jefferson Griffin. Griffin says there were voting irregularities that could have changed the outcome."

Read the North Carolina Journal's article at this link and PBS' reporting here.

From Your Site Articles