North Carolina Supreme Court Temporarily Pauses Ruling That Threatened to Disqualify 65,000 Ballots

Key Takeaways: 

• Over 65,000 people in North Carolina were at risk of having their ballots thrown out due to a NC Court of Appeals decision. 

• Republican Jefferson Griffin, who lost by 734 votes, pushed to disqualify ballots over voter ID issues.

• The North Carolina Supreme Court has now temporarily paused the lower court’s decision, allowing the votes to remain valid — for now.

The NC Supreme Court has temporarily paused a lower court ruling that could have led to the disqualification of more than 65,000 ballots in the state’s Supreme Court election in November 2024. The ruling would have given voters a 15 day deadline to fix their ballots, or risk having their votes discarded. 

The pause comes after Justice Allison Riggs and the North Carolina State Board of Elections filed appeals against a Friday decision issued by a three-judge panel on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. While the Supreme Court has suspended enforcement of the lower court’s order, the legal battle is still ongoing, as the court weighs whether to grant a longer-term block while the appeals process plays out.

Justice Riggs, a Democrat, narrowly defeated her Republican challenger, Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, by 734 votes. After the election, Griffin filed a protest seeking to have tens of thousands of votes thrown out arguing that voters failed to provide proper identification when registering.

In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court sided with Griffin, ruling that the disputed voters must correct their registration within 15 days or have their ballots discarded.

In a strong dissent to the ruling, Judge Toby Hampson warned, “Changing the rules by which these lawful voters took part in our electoral process after the election to discard their otherwise valid votes in an attempt to alter the outcome of only one race among many on the ballot is directly counter to law, equity, and the constitution.”  

Justice Riggs stated, “North Carolinians elected me to keep my seat and I swore an oath to the constitution and the rule of law – so I will continue to stand up for the rights of voters in this state and stand in the way of those who would take power from the people” as she vowed to appeal the decision. 

With the state Supreme Court’s pause in effect, the ballots in question remain valid — for now. However, the final outcome rests with the high court, which holds a 5-1 Republican majority. Justice Riggs will be recused from the case, given her direct involvement in the election challenge.