The order allows the state Supreme Court to hear a challenge by the Republican candidate in the race — who trails by just 734 votes — to have 60,000 ballots thrown out.

Summary

The North Carolina Supreme Court, in a 5-1 Republican-led decision, blocked certification of Democratic Justice Allison Riggs as the winner of a state Supreme Court race.

Riggs leads Republican Jefferson Griffin by 734 votes after recounts, but Griffin claims 60,000 ballots were illegally cast and seeks to have them invalidated.

The court will now hear Griffin’s challenge, with briefs due by January 24.

Democrats criticized the move as partisan, while the lone Democratic justice dissented, arguing there is no basis to delay certification or disrupt the election process.

  • Cataphract@lemmy.ml
    141·
    23 hours ago

    The only reason this is even a case is because of the National elections and Trump’s actions that he was held unaccountable for apparently.

    The changes in North Carolina were among the most extensive state voting reforms passed last year and continue a trend among Republican state legislatures, many of which have passed laws since 2021 adding new voting restrictions. The laws were pushed through after former President Donald Trump began falsely claiming that widespread fraud cost him reelection, claims that have resonated with many Republicans.

    Democrats in North Carolina and elsewhere have criticized many of the new laws as attacks on voting rights that often target minority and low-income voters. North Carolina’s changes in 2023 were pushed through without any Democratic support by Republican lawmakers who hold a super-majority in the legislature. They overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, whose final term ends this year. (link)

    If Trump had been held liable for election interference /fraud / misinformation, you wouldn’t have people down ballot having the courage to be so shady. If the Democrats actually tried relinquishing some of their control over elections, we might have a system that was fair and honored the citizens participating (they do very little in the way of FPTP problems like informing their base and usually step in to stop changes)