Jefferson Griffin, in his attempt to win a seat on the NC Supreme Court, is contesting thousands of ballots in North Carolina — including the ballots of 246 Wake Forest students. 

The Republican candidate is running in opposition to Democratic candidate Allison Riggs, for a seat in the North Carolina Supreme Court. 

Every past election in the United States, including presidential races or the last election for the House of Representatives, has been certified — except this one. 5,540,900 residents of North Carolina cast ballots and after multiple recounts, Riggs won by 734 votes. 

On Nov. 19, 2024, Griffin requested a recount of the race, which reaffirmed Riggs’ win on Dec. 3. The next day Griffin filed a series of election protests, challenging over 60,000 ballots cast in the race. 

According to a website called the Griffin List, “all voters on the [list] showed an ID to vote,” as required by North Carolina state law. 

This race is similar to the Supreme Court election between former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and current Chief Justice Paul Newby, where Newby beat Beasley by 401 votes. However, that election was not challenged in the courts after a recount.

Griffin’s claims

Griffin is not claiming voter fraud, or that voters did not follow the proper rules while voting. His argument, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, is that certain voting processes were not fixed before the election, and thus those votes are not valid and should not be counted. 

He claims that the State Board of Elections has been breaking state election law for decades by not requiring voters to provide a driver’s license or social security number while registering. While some voters failed to provide their driver’s license or social security number while registering, they are required to show a form of identification at the voting booth per state law.

A dangerous precedent 

According to Melissa Price Kromm, executive director of North Carolina For the People Action, “Everyone is looking at Trump and saying he’s the death of our democracy, but this case could actually be it.” 

Riggs, in her statement before the court, said that ruling in favor of Griffin would set a dangerous precedent for all future elections, whether in North Carolina or any other state or federal election.

“Rather than suing before an election to challenge rules they do not believe are valid, candidates will have an incentive to say nothing and wait to see if they win,” Riggs said in a court document. “Then if they lose, they will drag out elections through litigation for months, seeking to throw out votes until they win.”

According to Western Carolina University political science Professor Christopher Cooper, “Democrats were more than four times as likely to have their votes challenged as Republicans.” 

In a brief filed last week, Griffin “encouraged the court to stop checking ballots once the outcome flips in his favor.” 

In an amicus brief filed with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 22, “eight prominent scholars who study democratic backsliding characterized Griffin’s efforts as “no ordinary legal dispute” but rather a dramatic escalation of democratic backsliding in North Carolina.” 

However, according to three other Republican justices on the North Carolina Supreme Court, Griffin is not seeking to disenfranchise voters, and has a “right to ensure that only lawful votes are counted and that the result of the election is accurate.”

Winston-Salem ballots

According to Hunniya Ahmad, the 3rd vice chair of the Forsyth County Democratic Party (FCDP) and a student at Wake Forest, “[Griffin’s claim is] an attack on the involvement of someone in the process of democracy and is a crack in the foundation of democracy itself –– there is no more democracy if we can pick and choose who participates.” 

Ahmad also said the FCDP is working with leaders in Forsyth County and the larger North Carolina Democratic Party to spread awareness, hoping residents will fight back. 

“It does not matter what party you are from, what belief you hold because what unifies this country is the strong belief in democracy,” Ahmad said. “The day we lose that core tenant of America, we fall down a slippery slope of injustice and inequity,” 

The Wake Forest community’s reaction 

After Griffin challenged the ballots, Professor Sarah Mason, a mathematics professor at Wake Forest, reached out to students to inform them that their ballots were contested. 

Mason reached out because when she saw the list with multiple former and current students, she knew she needed to do something to help resolve the issue. She cited a website from the North Carolina Board of Elections with instructions for voters whose ballots were contested, underlining how students may not know who to contact in this situation. 

According to the President of the Wake Forest College Democrats Caleb Pembele, people must not lose sight of the bigger picture and that the sharp partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans threatens democratic processes. 

Moving forward, the case will be heard in state court, according to a ruling by the U.S. Fourth Circuit, but could still be challenged in federal court, depending on the ruling by the Wake County Superior Court.

Riggs warned North Carolinians of what would happen if the courts ruled in favor of Griffin. 

“Never again will North Carolina voters walk out of the voting booths knowing that their votes will count, and the court system will be flooded with lawsuits after every election seeking to challenge votes all over the State,” said Riggs.