The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for May 8, 2025
Breaking: The AP reported after we had posted our story that Judge Griffin conceded May 7th, ending any prospect of appeal.
The November 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race contested by the Republican candidate Judge Jefferson Griffin has finally been settled in federal district court. Associate Justice Allison Riggs was declared the winner on May 5th.
It took 180 days, likely hundreds of thousands in legal fees, and multiple state and federal courtrooms to adjudicate Riggs’ 734-vote win, the last unsettled major 2024 race in the country. Jefferson initially argued that 65,000 voters were ineligible due to voter ID and other registration issues, some of them for years before the election. Lower courts ordered an examination of 5,000 military and overseas voters, of which a thousand were deficient of ID information, and a handful identified as never having domiciled in North Carolina. Pro-voter groups argued that those voters followed state rules at the time they registered, and shouldn’t be penalized.
Trump-appointed U.S. District Court Chief Judge Richard Meyers II said in his finding, “ . . . effectuation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court’s orders would violate the equal protection and substantive due process rights of overseas military and civilian voters. The court further finds that discarding the votes of Never Residents without any process for those who may have been misclassified as ineligible violates procedural due process and represents an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.”
We’ve linked to the full decision at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
American Democracy Minute – Partisan Saga of North Carolina’s 2024 Supreme Court Race Now Returns to Federal Court. 5,000 Military & Overseas Ballots at Risk of Invalidation
Courthouse News Service – Judge loses bid for seat on North Carolina Supreme Court bench
U.S. District Court for Eastern NC (via Courthouse News) – Opinion in Griffin v. North Carolina Board of Elections
NC Newsline – Federal judge rules for Riggs in Supreme Court voter case
Groups Taking Action:
League of Women Voters, Protect Democracy, VoteVets , Democracy North Carolina
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
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