Riggs is on track to win Supreme Court race. How she did it and what lies ahead in the recount

With all counties now reporting results, Democrat Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs leads Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin by 623 votes.

Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs attends a Nov. 2, 2024, event in Wilson.

The votes appear to all be in for North Carolina’s Supreme Court race between Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs and Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin, though two counties had not yet fully certified their results, as of Tuesday morning.

With 5,541,013 ballots cast, Riggs leads by 623 votes, or 0.01%.

In 2016, North Carolina saw a statewide recount for state auditor result in a net gain of 49 votes for Democrats. In 2020, a statewide recount for Supreme Court resulted in a net gain of five votes for Democrats.

So while recent history suggests Griffin’s deficit is insurmountable, the race will go to a recount. And with the potential for weeks of litigation, I’m leaving the race as too close to call.

Shortly after the final votes came in from Craven and Forsyth counties, Riggs released a statement thanking her supporters for getting her this far, but stopping short of declaring victory.

“Recounts are a normal electoral process that allow for transparency and promote public confidence in our electoral systems,” Riggs wrote on X. “I’m grateful for your continued support, and for the time and dedication of our election workers across the state. This is what democracy looks like.”

Hours before the final votes came in, Griffin and the North Carolina Republican sued the State Board of Elections, arguing that the board neither promptly nor sufficiently responded to four records requests.

“Defendants' failure to provide the requested information as required by the Public Records Act is, in effect, denial of Plaintiffs' request, and will cause Plaintiffs irreparable harm,” the lawsuit alleges.

Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the NCSBE, said in a statement to reporters on Monday that the lawsuit was “thoroughly unnecessary.” He added that the elections board informed plaintiffs before the lawsuit was filed that the records requests would be fulfilled later on Monday.

The timeline is important, as Griffin only has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to submit an election protest and until noon on Tuesday to demand a recount.