Charlotte rally among protests against suit to toss ballots

PAUL WILLIAMS III | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Rotrina Campbell (second from right) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP President Rev. Corine Mack share the podium Monday at a Charlotte rally to protest Jefferson Griffin’s lawsuit to overturn the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race. Griffin sued the State Board of Elections to discount 65,000 ballots cast in November’s contest against incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, who won by more than 700 votes.

Over 65,000 North Carolinians may have their votes for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat thrown out.

“The People v. Griffin,” a statewide series of rallies hosted by Common Cause North Carolina, is engaging voters about Republican Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin’s lawsuit against the State Board of Elections. Griffin is contesting his November 2024 loss against incumbent justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat in the nation’s last undecided race.

Rotrina Campbell, an organizer with Common Cause NC, said the rallies, including Monday’s at Marshall Park, will educate the public about the lawsuit and how the state Supreme Court’s decisions impact North Carolinians.
“From childcare to education, healthcare, voter rights, all the way across the board,” she said. “The decisions that our North Caroline Supreme Court can make truly affect our everyday lives.”

Griffin’s lawsuit cites over 6,300 voters in Mecklenburg County. Campbell said many voters, Independents, Democrats and Republicans, don’t know they’re included in the lawsuit and at risk of having their votes thrown out. Recent reporting by WUNC and the News & Observer found the disputed ballots were disproportionately those of younger, Black and Latine voters.

“This is definitely unprecedented,” she said. “The people have spoken, and they have said who they wanted for the state of North Carolina…Their votes should be counted, their votes are valid, and they shouldn’t be challenged and silenced because they didn’t do anything wrong.”

Voters can use this online tool to see if they’re included in the lawsuit. The list, which is made publicly available by Apex Town Council member Terry Mahaffey, includes the names of over 6,00 residents of Mecklenburg County. Campbell says many people don’t even know their ballots are cited in Griffin’s lawsuit.

North Carolina’s Supreme Court is not new to recounts. In the 2022 election cycle, Democratic incumbent Cheri Beasley requested a hand recount of ballots when she lost the election for chief justice to Republican Paul Newby by 401 votes. Beasley conceded after one recount. Griffin, however, has had his loss confirmed by multiple recounts with a margin of 734 votes.  

The rally included many nonpartisan and voting rights organizations including Common Cause NC, The Mecklenburg NAACP, Red, Wine & Blue, Democracy NC, The North Carolina Poor People's Campaign, Democracy Out Loud, Team Unity, Indivisible Charlotte, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Justice in Action Law Firm, Climate Action League of Conservation Voters, and the Charlotte Democracy Center - Center for Common Ground.

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