The North Carolina State Board of Elections rejected a Republican challenge to throw out 60,000 ballots in a state Supreme Court race where the Democratic incumbent leads by just over 700 votes. Democrat Allison Riggs is expected to be certified as the winner, eliminating a major hurdle for the party in the contested race. Republican Jefferson Griffin, who lost the race, filed legal challenges alleging that nearly 60,000 people voted illegally. Many of the challenges were related to voter registration records lacking required information such as driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers. The North Carolina GOP criticized the ruling and reserved the right to future actions to protect the integrity of elections. The Democratic Party filed a suit in federal court to ensure all ballots in the race were counted, citing federal law that does not allow ballots to be tossed out for missing information. If Riggs is declared the winner, Republicans would maintain their 5-2 majority on the state Supreme Court. The hearing occurred while the Republican-controlled Legislature was considering a bill to strip the governor of his power to appoint members to the state Board of Elections. This comes at a time when Democrats currently control the board. The outcome of the state House race will also determine whether the GOP maintains its supermajority in the chamber. Democratic candidate Bryan Cohn leads Republican state Rep. Frank Sossamon by fewer than 300 votes.
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N.C. elections board rejects GOP attempt to discard 60,000 votes in tight state Supreme Court race
