By Ben Rappaport
More than 1,500 voters in Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties had their votes challenged in the disputed election for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs won the statewide election by 734 votes in November, but her opponent, Republican Jefferson Griffin, challenged the validity of more than 60,000 ballots. Griffin has said he challenged the ballots because the North Carolina State Board of Elections did not have the required information for most of the voters, including the last four digits of their Social Security number or driver’s license number.
Since Election Day last November, the case has bounced between state and federal courts. The State Board of Elections has rejected Griffin’s challenge in January saying there are several reasons why identifying information may not appear on a voter’s registration.
The case is currently before the North Carolina Supreme Court, where Republicans have a 5-2 majority. The conservative judges, however, are split on the matter: Republican Justice Richard Dietz dissented, saying that siding with Griffin “invites incredible mischief.”
Griffin, who serves on the N.C. Court of Appeals, beat Riggs by at least 4 percentage points in Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties. Still, he challenged 1,505 ballots across the region.
In Robeson County, where he earned 60% of the vote, Griffin challenged 796 ballots. He challenged fewer than 270 ballots in each of the other three counties.
Statewide, Democrats accounted for 32% of the challenged ballots, unaffiliated voters 45% and Republicans 22%.
An analysis by The News & Observer found that Black voters were twice as likely than white voters to have their ballots challenged. Voters ages 18 to 25 were also more likely to see their ballots challenged, accounting for 23% of all challenged ballots despite making up about 12% of the electorate.
Challenged voters are also more likely to be from out of state, more likely to identify as a member of a minority group, and much more likely to have unidentified race, gender and ethnicity on their voter registration, according to Chris Cooper, political scientist at Western Carolinas University.
Voters can find out if their ballots were challenged by searching their names at thegriffinlist.com. The list was created by Shameful Nuisance, a Chapel Hill-based progressive nonprofit.
