NC Supreme Court race - Riggs ahead +734 | Griffin loses in Fed Court, Concedes

[uncmba]

This might have been covered already, but I assume that these are mail-in ballots? So they are throwing out ballots attached to specific voters? So people can know how these people voted?

 

[05C40]

How often has justice been blind in the USA ?

Never, you are correct. There's an old legal maxim that states, "Hard cases make bad law." It is supposd to stand for the proposition that if a judge bends the law to accomodate a particularly sympathetic party, the precedent created will have an unexpected and adverse impact for years. Complete BS. Anytime a judge starts talking about "hard cases makes bad law," that judge is getting ready to screw someone based on the wealth or political party of the person not getting screwed.

 

[superrific]

Never, you are correct. There's an old legal maxim that states, "Hard cases make bad law." It is supposd to stand for the proposition that if a judge bend the law to accomodate a particularly sympathetic party, the precedent created will have an unexpected and adverse impact for years. Complete BS. Anytime a judge starts talking about "hard cases makes bad law," that judge is getting ready to screw someone based on the wealth or political party of the person not getting screwed.

Easy cases make bad law more often, in my view. Usually hard cases become hard because some easy case was decided carelessly -- because it was easy -- and thus the opinions contain language that becomes problematic later on.

I'm in a bit of a fog today so I'm having trouble coming up with examples, but I've researched many legal issues that languish in multi-decade confusion traceable to a unanimous decision that was too casually decided.

 

[Calheel]

This might have been covered already, but I assume that these are mail-in ballots? So they are throwing out ballots attached to specific voters? So people can know how these people voted?

That was my question when this all first broke.

Apparently, the ballots all have a code on them that allow them to be tracked to a specific voter. They use the code system to protect voter privacy but also to allow vote tracking if necessary.

 

[altmin]

NC Supreme Court temporarily blocks court order to throw out 2024 ballots in Riggs-Griffin race

Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin won a challenge against more than 60,000 ballots at the state Court of Appeals, but the order in his favor is blocked from going into place while it's appealed.

www.wral.com

Voters being challenged as illegitimate by a Republican candidate for the state Supreme Court won a temporary reprieve Monday, when the high court blocked a lower court's ruling Friday from going into effect.

Jefferson Griffin, a Republican judge on the state Court of Appeals, challenged Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs for her seat in the 2024 elections. Riggs received 734 more votes than Griffin, multiple recounts have shown. But Griffin is seeking to reverse the outcome by having more than 60,000 ballots thrown out. He alleges that the board of elections shouldn't have let the voters cast ballots largely due to voter registration inconsistencies.

Griffin's challenge was thrown out by the State Board of Elections in December. After he appealed that decision in court, he lost at trial. But on Friday, he won at the state Court of Appeals, with two GOP colleagues on that court ruling in his favor. The appellate court's 2-1 ruling said several hundred voters should have their ballots thrown out no matter what, based on a new interpretation of the state constitution. And the other 60,000-plus voters, the appeals court wrote, should have their ballots thrown out unless they take steps within 15 days to prove their identity to the state elections board.
Monday's order from the Supreme Court doesn't rule on who is right in the dispute. But it does block that Court of Appeals order, and its 15-day clock, from going into effect — at least for now, while Riggs and the Board of Elections appeal.

 

[nycfan]

NC Supreme Court temporarily blocks court order to throw out 2024 ballots in Riggs-Griffin race

Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin won a challenge against more than 60,000 ballots at the state Court of Appeals, but the order in his favor is blocked from going into place while it's appealed.

www.wral.com

Voters being challenged as illegitimate by a Republican candidate for the state Supreme Court won a temporary reprieve Monday, when the high court blocked a lower court's ruling Friday from going into effect.

Jefferson Griffin, a Republican judge on the state Court of Appeals, challenged Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs for her seat in the 2024 elections. Riggs received 734 more votes than Griffin, multiple recounts have shown. But Griffin is seeking to reverse the outcome by having more than 60,000 ballots thrown out. He alleges that the board of elections shouldn't have let the voters cast ballots largely due to voter registration inconsistencies.

Griffin's challenge was thrown out by the State Board of Elections in December. After he appealed that decision in court, he lost at trial. But on Friday, he won at the state Court of Appeals, with two GOP colleagues on that court ruling in his favor. The appellate court's 2-1 ruling said several hundred voters should have their ballots thrown out no matter what, based on a new interpretation of the state constitution. And the other 60,000-plus voters, the appeals court wrote, should have their ballots thrown out unless they take steps within 15 days to prove their identity to the state elections board.
Monday's order from the Supreme Court doesn't rule on who is right in the dispute. But it does block that Court of Appeals order, and its 15-day clock, from going into effect — at least for now, while Riggs and the Board of Elections appeal.

 

[nycfan]

 

[gtyellowjacket]

I cannot speak for the other counties, but I looked at the list and of the ballots he wants thrown out, almost all of the people I knew on the list likely voted for him. I don't think throwing all the ones out they want will necessarily result in a win for him

Any guesses as to what the inconsistencies amount to? Have these people moved recently? Do you think these people would tend to vote in most presidential elections or was this some kind of special year for them? I know this is probably hard to say for multiple different people that you know, but I'm trying to get some idea as to what the trend is for inconsistencies.

 

[05C40]

$300K to $600K is pocket change to the NC GOP. The big expense would be how much the NC Democrats would have to spend to try and contact all those voters and urge them to verify their votes. That would cost 10 to 20 times the quoted amount. The better way would be to change the election rules before people voted, not after they voted. If the NC Supreme Court authorizes this transparent attempt to steal the election, then the better course of action would be for the NC Supreme Court to just abolish elections for the Court altogether and just let the sitting judges pick the replacements. Same result at a much lower cost.

 

[Zoo_View]

Out of ALL the elections nationwide last November, only ONE election is undecided.

This election.

 

[EhringhausSouth]

Any guesses as to what the inconsistencies amount to? Have these people moved recently? Do you think these people would tend to vote in most presidential elections or was this some kind of special year for them? I know this is probably hard to say for multiple different people that you know, but I'm trying to get some idea as to what the trend is for inconsistencies.

No freaking idea. These are people that have lived around here for as long as I have known them.

 

[donbosco]

I wonder if anyone has informed Ven Allen Lubin that he is on the Griffin List?

The Griffin List

A list of 60,273 North Carolina voters – these are registered voters who showed ID to early vote in the November 2024 election – whose votes Jefferson Griffin wants to not be counted. Griffin lost a close election for the North Carolina Supreme Court, confirmed via two recounts...

thegriffinlist.com

 

[Calheel]

I wonder if anyone has informed Ven Allen Lubin that he is on the Griffin List?

The Griffin List

A list of 60,273 North Carolina voters – these are registered voters who showed ID to early vote in the November 2024 election – whose votes Jefferson Griffin wants to not be counted. Griffin lost a close election for the North Carolina Supreme Court, confirmed via two recounts...

thegriffinlist.com

He is from Orlando. Should probably be voting in Florida elections.

 

[nycfan]

N.C. Supreme Court rules most ballots in Griffin case will count

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that over 270 votes from people who have never lived in North Carolina should be thrown out.

spectrumlocalnews.com

The N.C. Supreme Court ruled Friday that the vast majority of ballots challenged in a race for a seat on that court should count.

In the 4-2 decision, justices ruled that more than 60,000 of the over 65,000 ballots challenged by the Republican candidate, state Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin, should be counted.

Those are from voters whose registrations were missing either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver’s license number.

The decision also says the military overseas voters whose ballots were challenged have to be given 30 days to provide the valid IDs that were missing.

The just over 270 votes from voters who have never lived in North Carolina should be removed from the count, justices said. …”

 

[superrific]

N.C. Supreme Court rules most ballots in Griffin case will count

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that over 270 votes from people who have never lived in North Carolina should be thrown out.

spectrumlocalnews.com

The N.C. Supreme Court ruled Friday that the vast majority of ballots challenged in a race for a seat on that court should count.

In the 4-2 decision, justices ruled that more than 60,000 of the over 65,000 ballots challenged by the Republican candidate, state Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin, should be counted.

Those are from voters whose registrations were missing either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver’s license number.

The decision also says the military overseas voters whose ballots were challenged have to be given 30 days to provide the valid IDs that were missing.

The just over 270 votes from voters who have never lived in North Carolina should be removed from the count, justices said. …”

Wow, surprising.

Griffin concedes now, right? The military voters probably skewed heavily in his favor. I suppose it's possible that only his voters will provide the valid ID, but I kind of doubt that? I guess there's no upside in conceding, given all this mess, but it seems unlikely he could win.

Never mind: the excluded ballots are county-specific. The bulk of them, apparently, are from Guilford. That doesn't mean they are blue but it does change the probabilities substantially.

Never mind part 2: I just read through the opinion. Hot garbage. At least they didn't wipe out the 60K ballots. Those are preserved.

 

[gtyellowjacket]

No freaking idea. These are people that have lived around here for as long as I have known them.

Nyc's linked article mentions the reason for most of the challenged ballots.

"Those are from voters whose registrations were missing either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver’s license number."

 

[Calheel]

Wow, surprising.

Griffin concedes now, right? The military voters probably skewed heavily in his favor. I suppose it's possible that only his voters will provide the valid ID, but I kind of doubt that? I guess there's no upside in conceding, given all this mess, but it seems unlikely he could win.

Never mind: the excluded ballots are county-specific. The bulk of them, apparently, are from Guilford. That doesn't mean they are blue but it does change the probabilities substantially.

This writer thinks the votes skew heavily in Riggs favor, although the explanation is paywalled:

Democrats nearly five times likelier than Republicans to have ballots tossed out in key Supreme Court election dispute

Griffin has asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to prioritize removing ballots from a group of military and overseas voters who are disproportionately registered Democrats.

andersonalerts.substack.com

 

[nycfan]

 

[superrific]

This writer thinks the votes skew heavily in Riggs favor, although the explanation is paywalled:

Democrats nearly five times likelier than Republicans to have ballots tossed out in key Supreme Court election dispute

Griffin has asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to prioritize removing ballots from a group of military and overseas voters who are disproportionately registered Democrats.

andersonalerts.substack.com

Yeah, I agree after reading the case. But those votes are subject to cure. If 90% of the votes are cured, and assuming about 5K, then Griffin can't win even if it's 100% Dem votes.

Anyway, it appears that the Supreme Court did not actually decide this issue. Or maybe it did. Dissent seems to think it didn't. I don't know NC procedures.

I wonder if the federal court will now get involved since the NC courts didn't even address the constitutional issues presented, or preemption?

 

[donbosco]

He is from Orlando. Should probably be voting in Florida elections

Nah.