NC Supreme Court Race: Wake judge affirms NCSBE dismissals of Griffin challenges
Griffin camp says they will file an appeal
On Friday, Superior Court Judge William Pittman issued three orders that essentially upheld the NC State Board of Elections (NCSBE) dismissal of challenges brought by Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin in tight race for NC Supreme Court.
Griffin’s attorneys indicated they will appeal.
Associate Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat, ended up with a 734-vote lead over Griffin after provisional ballots trickled in. Griffin had led by over 10,000 votes on election night. More than 5.5 million ballots were cast in the race and two recounts were conducted.
Here’s an abbreviated timeline of the major actions in the case so far:
Nov. 5, 2024: Riggs wins the election by 734 votes after Griffin had led by over 10,000 ballots on election night. Griffin files challenges to 60,000 ballots.
Nov. 26, 2024: Griffin files a request for the removal of NCSBE member Siobhan Millen from participating in voting on his challenges, citing her husband, Pressley Millen, represents Riggs.
Dec. 13, 2024: NCSBE rejects request for Millen’s recusal and dismisses Griffin's protests.
Dec. 18, 2024: Griffin files a Writ of Prohibition petition with NC Supreme Court.
Dec. 19, 2024: State Board removes case to federal court.
Jan. 6, 2025: Federal district court remands case back to NC Supreme Court.
Jan.7, 2025: NC Supreme Court grants preliminary injunction against NCSBE; meanwhile NCSBE files to reverse the remand back to state court. The NCSC Order was 4-2. Diets and Earls dissented.
Jan. 8, 2025: Riggs files this motion to expedite with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Griffin files motion opposing the move.
Jan. 10, 2025: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals grants Riggs motion to expedite; oral arguments to be held Jan. 27. All other motions deferred, including NCSBE’s request for a stay and its request to reverse EDNC’s Judge Meyers order moving the case to state court.
Jan.14, 2025: Griffin files his brief supporting his request for a Writ of Prohibition with the NC Supreme Court.
Jan. 21, 2025: Riggs’ attorney files a motion asking NC Supreme Court to dismiss Griffin’s case.
Jan. 22, 2025: NC Supreme Court rejects Griffin’s Writ of Prohibition and sends the case back to the trial court.
Jan. 24, 2025: Griffin final response due to NC Supreme Court.
Jan. 27, 2025: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals oral arguments are heard. Briefs were due to the court on Jan. 15 and Jan. 22.
Jan. 31, 2025: Griffin asks Fourth Circuit to dismiss NCSBE and Riggs appeals of decision to return the case to state court.
Feb. 3, 2025: NCBSE & Riggs attorneys respond to Griffin’s Jan. 31 filing disputing whether the case should be heard in state court.
Feb. 4, 2025: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the ruling to keep the case in state court.
Feb. 6, 2024: Riggs attorneys and NCSBE file paperwork implying they intend to pursue taking the case back to federal court.
Feb. 7, 2025: Case heard in state court (Wake County). Judge Pittman issued three orders affirming the NCSBE’s decisions over incomplete voter registrations, “never residents,” and photo ID. Pittman’s orders essentially dismiss Griffin’s challenges. Griffin’s attorneys indicated they will appeal.
More To The Story
Griffin was elected to the Court of Appeals in 2020 despite the hurdles of running a campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as being deployed part of that cycle with the North Carolina Army National Guard. He announced he would seek the Supreme Court seat in summer 2023.
This is Riggs’ first election. She was appointed to the NC Court of Appeals by former Governor Roy Cooper in late 2022. Less than a year later, Riggs was elevated by Cooper to the NC Supreme Court.
Prior to her first appointment, Riggs was a litigator with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and was partners at that organization with sitting NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls, who was elected to the top court in 2018.
Both Earls and Riggs received the endorsement of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), a Democratic Party PAC founded by former President Barack Obama and Eric Holder, who served as his attorney general. Holder himself also endorsed both women.
Holder recently stepped into the legal battle in the race to back Riggs through a partisan opinion column at the NY Times.
“As President Trump started his second term by pardoning violent insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Republicans in North Carolina already had a months-long effort underway to achieve, essentially, the same goal the insurrectionists had four years ago: to overturn the results of a free and fair election,” Holder wrote in his opening paragraph.
Holder’s article only gets more incendiary, including taking a shot at the members of the NC Supreme Court.
During the 2018 election cycle, NDRC PAC gave the NC Democratic Party (NCDP) half a million dollars split into two equal donations; one in June and another in September. One of the two donations went directly to the NCDP’s judicial fund fund, which bankrolled Earls’ campaign.
Additionally, the NDRC also made the maximum donation of $5,200 to Earls’ campaign.