(The Center Square) – Nearly one month after Election Day, Republican candidate for North Carolina Supreme Court Jefferson Griffin has officially requested a second statewide hand-eye recount.
The race between Griffin and Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs was the only statewide race not officially certified by the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Multiple challenges have been filed by Griffin.
On Election Night, with more than 5.5 million votes cast, only a few thousand votes separated the two Supreme Court candidates. With all 2,658 precincts in on, Griffin led by 9,851 votes. Monday, he trailed by 722 votes – a 10,573 vote reversal.
“Voters in North Carolina deserve confidence in our election system,” NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer said. “Upholding the rule of law and keeping the State Board accountable are critical in this process to make sure every legal vote is counted.”
In the state Senate, Republican Stacie McGinn requested a recount in the District 42 race and Republican Ashlee Bryan Adams did likewise for District 18. McGinn was defeated by Democrat Woodson Bradley by 204 votes of more than 124,000 cast; Adams was 134 votes behind Democrat Terence Everitt of more than 123,000 cast.
Griffin is challenging the validity of more than 60,000 ballots across the state “due to specific irregularities and discrepancies in the handling and counting of ballots,” the NCGOP said.
Griffin, who was joined by McGinn and Adams in the challenge, had six specific complaints, including concerns about voting registration records, how overseas ballots were properly distributed and vetted, and an accusation of felons voting.
Legal briefs have now been filed by the Republicans with the State Board of Elections regarding the complaints over which they took jurisdiction.
“This board should conclude that there is substantial evidence to believe that a violation of the election laws or other irregularity or misconduct occurred and that it was sufficiently serious to cast doubt on the apparent results of the elections being protested,” the brief stated.
Last time the state board faced such uncertainty was the 2018 ballot harvesting scandal centered in Bladen County. That involved a seat in Congress along with a county commission race. The county race was eventually resolved but the election of the congressional seat, after a hearing ended with the potential winning candidate saying he was unsure if he did, was redone the following spring.
The State Board of Elections has yet to announce a decision or upcoming meeting to hear these complaints.
