North Carolina's cliffhanger Supreme Court race was frozen by the court's own Republican majority, in a bombshell reversal.
A day after a federal judge sent the case back to the state court, the justices blocked the board of elections from certifying Democrat Allison Riggs' victory over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin.
Riggs leads by just 734 votes out of 5.5 million cast, and Griffin argues thousands of ballots may have been cast by people who weren't legally registered.
In particular, Griffin and the state's Republicans have argued that many voters registered without providing driver's licenses or Social Security numbers. Democrats have protested that Griffin wants to disenfranchise people who have been voting without issue for years.
The state's Board of Elections, which is controlled by Democrats, rejected Griffin's complaints, triggering a heated court battle.
In a win for Griffin, a federal judge appointed by President Trump, Richard Myers II, decided his court does not have jurisdiction and sent the case back to the Supreme Court, which has a 5-2 Republican majority. The Board of Elections and Griffin have appealed the judge's ruling.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court granted Griffin's request to put the election certification on hold while he pursues his challenges.
Griffin recused herself. The court's only other Democrat dissented, writing, "the public interest requires that the court not interfere with the ordinary course of democratic processes as set by statute and the state constitution.”
The deepening political divide in the United States has turned nominally non-partisan court races into contentious and sometimes expensive political battles. North Carolina is one of a few states to hold explicitly partisan elections for its Supreme Court.
North Carolina Democrats released a blistering statement accusing Griffin of attempting to overturn the will of the people.
“Justice Allison Riggs won her seat fair and square and that will continue to be demonstrated before the courts,” Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, said in a statement.
“... We are in this position due to Jefferson Griffin refusing to accept the will of the people. He is hellbent on finding new ways to overthrow this election but we are confident that the evidence will show, like they did throughout multiple recounts, that she is the winner in this race.”
Given the extremely close margins in this race, Griffin is right to pursue every legal measure available to contest the results - even if it's inconvenient for Democrats.
