A three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Friday in the contentious legal battle surrounding the state's Supreme Court election — the only uncertified race in the country. Appellate Court Judge Jefferson Griffin, the Republican candidate who trails by just 734 votes, is seeking to have some 65,000 votes he claims are invalid thrown out from the November contest.
The panel, comprised of two Republicans and one Democrat, peppered counsel for Griffin, the state Board of Elections and Democratic North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs for around 90 minutes. They asked the attorneys to square competing legal precedents with election law principles barring last-minute changes before an election and questioned who, if anyone, bears the burden of the election challenges.
