North Carolina Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin's legal effort to contest his electoral loss in the state's tight Supreme Court race, in which he trails incumbent Justice Allison Riggs by just over 700 votes, threatens to upend the already contentious state of democracy in North Carolina — and puts the entire nation at further risk of democratic erosion, legal experts say.
Griffin, a Republican, is asking the North Carolina Supreme Court to force the state Election Board to throw out thousands of ballots he alleges are invalid, in part, because voters' registrations did not include driver's licenses and social security numbers — a move that would undoubtedly hand him a victory in the race. His lawsuit, coupled with parallel legal challenges from the Republican National Committee, has garnered national attention as Democrats and other critics raise alarm about the potential disenfranchisement of North Carolina voters.
