2024 North Carolina Supreme Court election
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  Riggs: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Griffin: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in North Carolina |
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The 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect a justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court for an eight-year term. Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs was elected to her first full term, defeating Republican state Court of Appeals judge Jefferson Griffin. Due to a legal challenge over the results from Griffin, the election was not certified until May 13, 2025, 189 days later, making it the last of the 2024 cycle to be certified.
Although the Election Day results and two recounts showed Riggs won the race by 734 votes, Griffin protested the eligibility of over 60,000 absentee ballots, prompting a lengthy legal battle in state and federal court. Griffin conceded on May 7 after a federal judge ordered the certification of the results.
Democratic primary
[edit]This seat was held by Associate Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat. Governor Roy Cooper appointed her to the seat following the early retirement of Michael R. Morgan, also a Democrat. Morgan had announced in 2023 that he would not run for reelection in 2024.[1]
Candidates
[edit]Nominee
[edit]- Allison Riggs, incumbent Associate Justice and former North Carolina Court of Appeals judge (2023)[2]
Eliminated in primary
[edit]- Lora Cubbage, North Carolina Superior Court judge and former District Court judge[3]
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Allison Riggs |
Lora Cubbage |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling (D)[4] | December 15–16, 2023 | 556 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 12% | 9% | 79% |
Results
[edit]
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Allison Riggs (incumbent) | 450,268 | 69.10% | |
| Democratic | Lora Christine Cubbage | 201,336 | 30.90% | |
| Total votes | 651,604 | 100.0% | ||
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Jefferson Griffin, North Carolina Court of Appeals judge[6]
General election
[edit]Endorsements
[edit]Organizations
- National Federation of Independent Business North Carolina PAC[7]
Debate
[edit]| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key:
P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| Riggs | Griffin | |||||
| 1 | June 28, 2024 | North Carolina Bar Association | Tim Boyum | YouTube | P | P |
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Allison Riggs (D) |
Jefferson Griffin (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiVote[8] | October 8–26, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 48% | 52% | – |
| Cygnal (R)[9][A] | October 12–14, 2024 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 43% | 45% | 12% |
| ActiVote[10] | August 20 – September 22, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 52% | 48% | – |
| Cygnal (R)[11][A] | September 15–16, 2024 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 44% | 41% | 15% |
| YouGov (D)[12][B] | August 5–9, 2024 | 802 (RV) | ± 3.9% | 42% | 41% | 17% |
| Cygnal (R)[13][A] | August 4–5, 2024 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 37% | 40% | 22% |
| Spry Strategies[14] | June 7–11, 2024 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 39% | 37% | 24% |
| Change Research (D)[15][B] | May 13–18, 2024 | 835 (LV) | ± 3.8% | 41% | 40% | 19% |
| Cygnal (R)[16][A] | May 4–5, 2024 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 39% | 40% | 21% |
| Meeting Street Insights (R)[17][C] | April 25–28, 2024 | 500 (RV) | ± 4.4% | 42% | 40% | 18% |
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Allison Riggs (incumbent) | 2,770,412 | 50.01% | |
| Republican | Jefferson Griffin | 2,769,678 | 49.99% | |
| Total votes | 5,540,090 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
By congressional district
[edit]Despite losing the state, Griffin won ten of 14 congressional districts.[19]
| District | Riggs | Griffin | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 50.1% | 49.9% | Don Davis |
| 2nd | 68% | 32% | Deborah Ross |
| 3rd | 41% | 59% | Greg Murphy |
| 4th | 74% | 26% | Valerie Foushee |
| 5th | 43% | 57% | Virginia Foxx |
| 6th | 43% | 57% | Addison McDowell |
| 7th | 45% | 55% | David Rouzer |
| 8th | 42% | 58% | Mark Harris |
| 9th | 44% | 56% | Richard Hudson |
| 10th | 43% | 57% | Pat Harrigan |
| 11th | 47% | 53% | Chuck Edwards |
| 12th | 74% | 26% | Alma Adams |
| 13th | 44% | 56% | Brad Knott |
| 14th | 44% | 56% | Tim Moore |
Aftermath
[edit]State court proceedings
[edit]Following the initial election recount, Jefferson Griffin filed an election protest challenging the eligibility of over 60,000 absentee ballots from six heavily Democratic-voting counties (Buncombe, Cumberland, Durham, Forsyth, Guilford and New Hanover[20]). These ballots fell into three categories:[21]
- ~60,000 ballots from voters with incomplete registration information—alleged voters whose record lacked a driver's license number or social security number
- ~1,409 ballots from military and overseas voters without photo ID in Guilford County
- 266 ballots from overseas voters who have not previously resided in North Carolina but whose parents are North Carolina citizens (referred to as "never residents")
At the time of the election, in accordance with UOCAVA, military and overseas voters were not required to provide a photo ID when voting absentee.[22][23][24] In addition, North Carolina law permits overseas voters who have never resided in the United States to vote in North Carolina elections, provided they have a parent or legal guardian who currently resides or last resided in the state.[25] The Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party challenged these voters' ability to cast votes before the election, however the challenges were dismissed.[26][27]
In December 2024, the North Carolina State Board of Elections dismissed Griffin's election protest.[28] Griffin then filed a Writ of prohibition petition with the state Supreme Court to stop the certification of the election. The Supreme Court dismissed the challenge in January 2025, stating that the proper avenue to appeal State Board of Election decisions was through the Wake County Superior Court.[29] However, the Court did grant a stay of certification, halting the election certification pending resolution of all appeals. In February, Superior Court judge William Pittman affirmed the State Board decision, denying relief to Griffin.[30]
Griffin appealed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals which overturned the lower court ruling by a 2–1 vote on April 4. The appeals court held that all the ballots challenged by Griffin were wrongly included in the final result tally.[31] The Court further ordered a cure process, where voters on the list of challenged ballots based on incomplete voter information or missing photo ID would have 15 days to cure their votes.[32] However, the appeals court also ordered the 266 alleged "never resident" voters to be removed from the vote count, with no opportunity to cure their votes.[33]
Riggs and the State Board appealed to the state Supreme Court. The high Court unanimously overturned the Court of Appeals decision to throw out the vast majority of challenged ballots, noting that voters who had missing information was the result of clerical errors and not the fault of the voters.[34] However, the Court affirmed the Court of Appeals decision in relation to the absentee ballots from military and overseas voters lacking photo ID and "Never residents" by a 4–2 vote.[34] The Court modified the cure process outlined by the Court of Appeals for military and overseas voters, extending it to 30 days.[35] Justice Anita Earls vehemently dissented, characterizing the majority's decision as "stealing the election" and a "bloodless coup".[34] Justice Richard Dietz also dissented, proclaiming the majority should have "embrace[d] the universally accepted principle that courts cannot change election outcomes by retroactively rewriting the law." In addition, Justice Dietz criticized the majority decision as incentivizing future losing candidates to challenge their election results.[36]
Federal court proceedings
[edit]Following the state Supreme Court decision, Riggs announced that she would be taking the case to federal court.[37] Riggs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to halt the curing process, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Chief Judge Richard Meyers declined to halt the curing process, but ordered the State Board to halt certification of the election (presumably any amended results after the conclusion of the cure process), pending resolution of the case in federal court.[38] Riggs further appealed to the 4th Circuit, which granted a stay on April 22, effectively halting the curing process and potential discarding of the challenged ballots, while the case proceeds through the district court.[39]
On May 5, 2025, six months to the day after the election, Chief Judge Myers ordered the Board of Elections to certify the results of the election as they stood following the December recount.[40] Myers held that retroactively throwing out mail ballots from overseas and military voters violated their substantive due process rights, and the cure procedure sanctioned by the NC Supreme Court violated equal protection. In regard to the category of voters labeled as "never residents", Myers ruled that the decisions of the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals to throw out their votes without any chance for these voters to challenge their classification, violated procedural due process.[41] This was especially significant given the numerous instances of voters who were classified as "never residents", but were in fact, North Carolina residents with extensive histories of voting in the state.[42][43]
Griffin conceded the election to Riggs on May 7, 2025.[44]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Doran, Will (May 18, 2023). "Democratic NC Supreme Court Justice Michael Morgan won't run for reelection in 2024". WRAL-TV. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ Cruz, David (February 14, 2024). "Appointed justice seeks election to NC Supreme Court seat". Rocky Mount Telegram.
- ^ Cruz, David (February 14, 2024). "Jurist vies for seat on state's high court". Rocky Mount Telegram.
- ^ Public Policy Polling (D)
- ^ "03/05/2024 OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ Woodhouse, Dallas (November 14, 2022). "Judge Jefferson Griffin looking to add to GOP state Supreme Court majority". Carolina Journal.
- ^ "NFIB North Carolina PAC Endorses Candidates in Four Judicial Races". National Federation of Independent Business. October 14, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ ActiVote
- ^ Cygnal (R)
- ^ ActiVote
- ^ Cygnal (R)
- ^ YouGov (D)
- ^ Cygnal (R)
- ^ Spry Strategies
- ^ Change Research (D)
- ^ Cygnal (R)
- ^ Meeting Street Insights (R)
- ^ "2024 November General Election Recount" (PDF). Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17Bd1StU4mIhnSJgPa_o_eyOVR5fuBZhyJzwpXjT7JE4/edit?gid=0#gid=0
- ^ Michels, Sarah (April 22, 2025). "Stakes in Griffin-Riggs case go beyond battle for one NC Supreme Court seat". Carolina Public Press.
- ^ Selzer, Rachel (February 7, 2025). "North Carolina Judge Rejects GOP State Supreme Court Candidate's Bid To Throw Out 60K Ballots". Democracy Docket.
- ^ "Voter ID Overview". North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- ^ "Photo Identification for Absentee-By-Mail Ballots (08 NCAC 17 .0109(d))".
- ^ Bonner, Lynn (February 7, 2025). "NC overseas voters were told they didn't need photo ID. Now their votes are in jeopardy". NC Newsline.
- ^ "Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act § 163‑258.2. (1)e. 1" (PDF).
- ^ "Court decisions in Michigan and North Carolina deny GOP challenges to overseas voters". Associated Press. October 21, 2024.
- ^ Hill, Crystal (October 21, 2024). "North Carolina Court Denies RNC Bid to Block Certain Overseas Votes". Democracy Docket.
- ^ "North Carolina Supreme Court 2024 Election Protests Rejection Challenges (II)". Democracy Docket. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
- ^ "North Carolina Supreme Court Dismisses GOP Candidate's Election Challenge, Lower Courts Must Review First". Democracy Docket. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
- ^ Billman, Jeffrey. "Wake Judge Dismisses Jefferson Griffin's Election Challenge". The Assembly. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
- ^ "North Carolina judges side with Republican colleague in close Supreme Court election". AP News. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
- ^ "Appeals court judges rule in favor of tossing thousands of ballots in close NC supreme court race". ABC 7 Chicago. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
- ^ Haulenbeek, Sydney (April 4, 2025). "60K disputed North Carolina ballots may be thrown out if not cured". Courthouse News Service.
- ^ a b c "North Carolina Supreme Court issues order in Riggs-Griffin case". NC Newsline. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
- ^ Ingram, Kyle (April 11, 2025). "NC Supreme Court rejects main Griffin ballot challenge — but some votes remain in jeopardy". The News & Observer.
- ^ Haulenbeek, Sydney (April 11, 2025). "North Carolina Supreme Court orders 60,000 ballots to be upheld in disputed court election". Courthouse News Service.
- ^ "Justice Allison Riggs speaks at Durham conference one day after state supreme court decision". WRAL News. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
- ^ "Federal judge rejects stay of weekend order in Griffin-Riggs election dispute". The Carolina Journal. April 15, 2025.
- ^ "Federal Appeals Court grants stay to Riggs, Democrats in NC election dispute". The Carolina Journal. April 22, 2025.
- ^ Ingram, Kyle. "Federal judge orders NC to certify Riggs as winner in Supreme Court election". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ^ "Federal judge rules for Riggs, orders her certified as NC Supreme Court winner". Carolina Journal. May 5, 2025.
- ^ Anderson, Bryan (April 13, 2025). "Longtime N.C. Voters May Have Their Ballots Wrongfully Tossed in Supreme Court Race". The Assembly NC.
- ^ Sneed, Tierney; Gallagher, Dianne (April 29, 2025). "He was born in North Carolina. Republicans say he's a 'never resident' and want to throw out his vote". CNN.
- ^ Robertson, Gary D. (May 7, 2025). "Republican concedes long-unsettled North Carolina court election to Democratic incumbent". Associated Press. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
External links
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