Federal judge orders state elections officials to certify Riggs' Supreme Court win

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Myers, a Trump appointee, has rejected all of Judge Jefferson Griffin's protests and instructed the state to certify a win for Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs.

Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs addresses supporters at a March 5, 2024, news conference in Raleigh.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Myers on Monday ordered the State Board of Elections to certify a 734-vote win for Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs.

In his ruling, the Trump-appointed judge rejected all outstanding election protests from Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, though he stayed the order for seven days so that Griffin may appeal.

Myers concluded that Griffin’s efforts to retroactively discard the votes of military and overseas voters without a photo ID and so-called “never residents” violated North Carolinians due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.

“This consolidated action concerns an attempt to change the rules of the game after it had been played,” Myers wrote. “The court cannot countenance that strategy.”

In his ruling, Myers also referenced reporting from Anderson Alerts that identified scores of wrongly accused “never residents,” including many who have a history of in-person voting.

Despite the court’s ruling and apparent victory for Riggs, the damage to future North Carolina elections has already been done.

Republican Court of Appeals Judges Fred Gore and John Tyson and GOP Supreme Court Justices Paul Newby, Trey Allen, Phil Berger Jr. and Tamara Barringer have issued decisions paving the way for retroactive voter challenges. It’s a view that can’t be put back in a box and stands to create little incentive for candidates to concede defeat in close elections going forward.

There’s now also precedent for wrongly challenging voters who followed all rules in place at the time of an election and leaving them without any means to address concerns with their ballots.

Griffin’s campaign said it is "reviewing the order and evaluating next steps." The North Carolina Republican also said it's reviewing the order with lawyers. Riggs on Monday declared victory and called the court order a win for herself and voters.

“Today, we won,” Riggs said in a statement. “I’m proud to continue upholding the Constitution and the rule of law as North Carolina’s Supreme Court Justice.”

Griffin, meanwhile, will remain on the state Court of Appeals bench until his term expires at the end of 2028, barring a successful appeal in federal court for his Supreme Court race.

Anderson Clayton, chair of the state Democratic Party, praised the judge for his decision, noting it comes exactly six months after the Nov. 5 election.