North Carolina Supreme Court Recount Becomes GOP Power Grab
Justice Allison Riggs won. Now Republicans are trying to throw out overseas and military ballots to undo the result.
A New Front in the Republican War on Democracy
A razor-thin state Supreme Court race in North Carolina has become ground zero in the national battle over election integrity. But this isn’t just about one judge or one seat. It’s about the Republican Party’s increasingly brazen attempts to disregard the will of voters and cling to power at any cost.
Democratic Justice Allison Riggs was declared the winner in the 2024 state Supreme Court race, narrowly defeating her Republican challenger, Jefferson Griffin, by just 734 votes. Two recounts confirmed that margin. Under any fair and functioning democracy, the matter would be settled.
But the Republican Party isn’t playing by democratic rules anymore.
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Targeting the Most Vulnerable Ballots
Rejecting the results, GOP operatives mounted an aggressive legal campaign targeting over 65,000 ballots—not fraudulent ones, but from voters the party routinely seeks to suppress: military and overseas voters, and “never residents” (U.S. citizens who’ve never lived in North Carolina but whose parents reside there).
Griffin’s challenge wasn’t about vote integrity but a calculated effort to throw out legitimate ballots that lean Democratic. The Republican-controlled state Supreme Court aided the effort, requiring new documentation for thousands of these ballots after the election concluded.
We’ve reported on voter suppression before, but this is so much more. See our article here:
Rewriting the Rules After the Vote
This isn’t oversight. It’s interference.
The GOP’s playbook is simple: if you don’t like the outcome, change the rules after the game. By retroactively altering standards, they’re making a mockery of the democratic process, at the expense of Americans who followed every rule. What began as pre-election suppression has evolved into post-election disqualification.
This isn’t a slippery slope. We’re already in freefall.
Justice Riggs Fights Back
Justice Allison Riggs is not backing down. In her federal lawsuit, she challenges the state court’s decision as unconstitutional, citing violations of due process and equal protection.
“This is not just about me,” Riggs said at a recent press conference. “It’s about defending every legal voter who participated in this election. If they can erase thousands of valid ballots here, they can do it anywhere.”
Riggs’ legal challenge is about defending her seat and preserving the principle that voters decide elections, not partisan judges or political operatives.
Riggs, a former civil rights attorney who worked extensively on voting rights cases before joining the bench, is acutely aware of what’s at stake. Her warnings extend far beyond North Carolina:
“This is not just a North Carolina problem. This is an existential threat to democracy,” she told The Guardian.
“I worry that this is honing a playbook to be used in the future—that people in power hold on to power by selectively challenging election outcomes that they don't like.”
These aren’t just legal maneuvers but a blueprint for minority rule.
Think state Supreme Court races don’t matter? Think again. We’ve reported on another higher profile state Supreme Court fight that made national headlines.
The Republican Blueprint for Power
This isn’t an isolated case. Across the country, the GOP is testing new ways to erode democracy and secure minority rule. North Carolina is now the proving ground for a dangerous tactic: using state courts to toss ballots and overturn results retroactively.
The Republican-controlled legislature has already:
Stripped power from the Democratic governor to control the state Board of Elections.
Gerrymandered districts to guarantee GOP dominance.
Passed strict ID laws and reduced early voting to suppress turnout.
Now, they’re targeting the judiciary. If they succeed, expect this strategy to spread to other Republican-led states.
The Real Victims: Voters
The ballots under attack come from the very people Republicans claim to support: service members stationed abroad. Yet their votes are targeted simply because they didn’t favor the GOP candidate.
One Navy lieutenant, stationed in the Pacific, shared anonymously with a veterans group:
“I followed every rule, mailed my ballot weeks ahead, and now I might be disqualified because some judge changed the rules after the fact. That’s not democracy.”
This blatant disenfranchisement should infuriate every American. If Republicans are willing to erase these votes now, whose votes will they target next?
A Glimpse of 2026 and 2028
This is a dry run. The Republican Party is testing how far it can go—disqualifying ballots, sowing chaos, claiming fraud, and letting partisan courts do the rest.
It’s not a theory. It’s happening now.
In 2026 and 2028, they’ll try again with more money, better coordination, and a playbook they’ve already started drafting in North Carolina.
Courts on the Brink
If Griffin’s challenge succeeds, it won’t just swing one seat. It will drag North Carolina’s judiciary deeper into partisan control and send a clear message: judges can be installed by tossing valid ballots after the fact.
That’s not justice. It’s authoritarianism in legal robes.
The current Trump-aligned GOP has a number of strategies up their sleeve to disrupt and buy elections. See our reporting here:
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What You Can Do
This legal fight is ongoing, but silence is not an option. Here’s how you can push back:
Contact your representatives and demand federal protections for overseas and military voters.
Support voting rights groups like Fair Fight Action, Democracy Docket, or the Brennan Center for Justice.
Stay informed and speak out. Share this article. Talk to your networks. Call voter suppression what it is.
Show up to every election. Even the small, local, and seemingly inconsequential races count.
Because the Republican Party is no longer trying to win elections. They’re trying to control them. And if we don’t stop them here, they’ll keep going until your vote doesn’t matter.
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Bibliography:
Associated Press. “North Carolina Supreme Court Rules Most Challenged Ballots Must Stay in Election Count.” AP News, April 11, 2025.
Democracy Docket. “Allison Riggs: ‘This Is a Fight for the Very Soul of Democracy.’” Democracy Docket, April 4, 2025.
The Guardian. “'An Existential Threat to Democracy': The US Judge Facing a Challenge to Her Election Victory.” The Guardian, April 15, 2025.
Vox. “The Republican Attempt to Steal a State Supreme Court Election, Explained.” Vox, April 14, 2025.
Politico. “North Carolina's Top Court Clears Path for Some Ballots to Be Tossed in Contested State Supreme Court Race.” Politico, April 11, 2025.
Reuters. “North Carolina Top Court Rules to Count Most Ballots Challenged in Judicial Race.” Reuters, April 11, 2025.
NC Newsline. “North Carolina Supreme Court Issues Order in Riggs-Griffin Case.” NC Newsline, April 11, 2025.
Democracy Docket. “Federal Court Tells NC to Pause on Certifying Election — But State Can Proceed with Ballot Curing.” Democracy Docket, April 14, 2025.
NC State Board of Elections. “Statement on NC Supreme Court Order in Griffin Protest.” NC State Board of Elections, April 12, 2025.
The Guardian. “North Carolina GOP Lawmakers Override Veto to Strip Power from Democratic Officials.” The Guardian, December 12, 2024.
Brennan Center for Justice. “Anatomy of a North Carolina Gerrymander.” Brennan Center for Justice, October 27, 2023.
WRAL. “New GOP Bill Would Slash Early Voting in NC, Ban Sunday Voting.” WRAL, February 6, 2025.
Democracy Docket. “North Carolina Military and Overseas Ballot Disqualification Challenge.” Democracy Docket, April 14, 2025.
State Court Report. “A North Carolina Court Decision Could Overturn a 2024 State Supreme Court Election.” State Court Report, April 9, 2025.
Carolina Journal. “Riggs Seeks Stay, Injunction from Federal Appeals Court in Election Dispute.” Carolina Journal, April 16, 2025.
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Time to arrest violators of the rule of law.
Fantastic explanation of what's going on in NC - and what it means for the rest of the country