(The Center Square) – Tensions grow as a second recount continues in North Carolina’s lone Supreme Court race, the only statewide race not yet certified.
Republican Jefferson Griffin, who is currently trailing Democrat incumbent Allison Riggs, filed a petition on Friday requesting the North Carolina State Board of Elections issue a final decision by Tuesday, Dec. 10 on outstanding election protests.
On election night, with more than 5.5 million votes cast and all 2,658 precincts in, Griffin led by 9,851 votes. Through the counting of provisional and absentee ballots, there was a 10,573 vote reversal, putting Riggs in the lead.
Currently, counties are conducting a second statewide hand-eye recount, as requested by Griffin.
According to a release from the election board, the sample hand-to-eye recount is “designed to determine whether there are sufficient discrepancies from the machine recount to require a full hand-to-eye recount of all ballots cast in the contest.”
The state Republican party has alleged that the election board has “delayed” its decision process.
“Judge Griffin has led efforts to seek clarity and accountability while the State Board has been dragging its feet. The people of North Carolina deserve clarity and confidence in the electoral process,” said NC Chairman Jason Simmons in a press release. “Judge Griffin has taken an important step in ensuring that the State Board fulfills its responsibility to act promptly, resolve these protests, and uphold the integrity of our elections.”
Earlier this week, Griffin filed a motion to expedite a number of protests which are currently waiting before the election board. He, along with a few other Republican candidates, filed the protests soon after election day contesting the legitimacy of about 60,000 votes throughout the state.
The motion set a deadline of Dec. 4 for a response to be filed in Griffin’s request that election board member Siobhan Millen be disqualified from voting in the protests.
Millen’s husband, Pressly Millen, is a partner in the law firm representing Riggs in the election. Siobhan Millen is one of three Democrats on the state board chaired by Democrat Alan Hirsch.
Griffin’s motion also requested a decision in Millen’s case be made by Friday at 5 p.m. That way, a “final written decision on the protests over which the Board has taken jurisdiction” could be made by Monday.
Matt Mercer, the state Republican party’s communications director, Matt Mercer told The Center Square that “we have not seen any action from the State Board on those matters.”
Riggs has condemned the Republican challenges to the votes, while declaring that she won.
“I continue to be dismayed that my opponent is challenging the ballots of over 60K lawful NC voters,” Riggs said on social media. “Mass challenging the legitimacy of tens of thousands of NC voters is not normal.”
Republicans in North Carolina have pushed back.
“The ballots known to have issues should not be allowed — these problems are exclusively the fault of the N.C. State Board of Elections,” said Simmons on social media. “We’re fighting to safeguard Election Integrity in North Carolina.”
