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.

Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs addresses supporters in Raleigh on March 5, 2024.

Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin has gained national attention for his effort to overturn Democrat Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs’ apparent victory. And much of that coverage has focused on the 60,273 voters Griffin wants removed from the vote count over alleged incomplete voter registrations.

It’s a legal reasoning that failed in court before the election, has been met with bipartisan pushback and is seen as highly unlikely to succeed now.

Most notably, Republican Supreme Court Justice Richard Dietz issued a dissent labeling Griffin’s effort to toss out the votes of people whose voter registration information lacked driver’s license or Social Security information “almost certainly meritless.”

Recognizing the unlikelihood of those votes being tossed out, Griffin and Republicans supporting his effort are now sharpening their focus to one group of voters who have largely flown under the radar: military and overseas voters who didn’t provide a photo ID. Initially, 1,409 voters were challenged. But on Tuesday, Griffin called on the Supreme Court to remove 5,509 votes from the count.

“In the Supreme Court contest, 5,509 such ballots were unlawfully cast,” attorneys for Griffin wrote. “Judge Griffin anticipates that, if these unlawful ballots are excluded, he will win the election.”

An Anderson Alerts analysis shows Democrats disproportionately targeted. And if Griffin were successful in having those votes removed, he would almost definitely overturn his apparent defeat. Here’s what a detailed review of data shows: