Republican Jefferson Griffin was caught in the twists and turns of an uphill battle in North Carolina, where his bid for Seat 6 on the State Supreme Court had been mired in legal complexities. Despite 292 contested ballots and a punctuated lead of 734 votes, the State Board of Elections dismissed the protests that Griffin had raised against his Democratic rival, Allison Riggs.
The state election board’s actions emitted an unsettling ambiguity as they failed to produce a certificate of election alongside their decision. Colin Loftin, a spokesperson for the election board, ambiguously stated that once the written decision was issued, likely on a cryptic Monday, then the certificate of election would be released unless a candidate brings up a stay of issuance within 13 days following that decision.
Kevin Lewis and Stacy Eggers, both Republicans who sit on the election board, made compelling arguments. They strongly advocated for individual examination of each candidate’s protest, striking a contrasting perspective against the board’s seemingly joint decision. Unfortunately, their valiant efforts were swallowed by the overdose of opposing sentiments.
The Democrat Jeff Carmon’s motion was backed by Siobhan Millen and Alan Hirsch, Chairman of the board, both of whom exhibited a troubling lack of apprehension towards the situation. Hirsch notably revealed his confusion as to why there was any opposition, claiming naively that the protestors had ‘conceded’ that the county board’s evaluations of the protests weren’t determinant of the outcome.
Lewis, however, was resilient. Standing his ground for truth and justice, he heavily refuted the claim about the so-called ‘conce ssion’. Throughout the meeting, he masterfully brought up the recent rejection of a staggering 60,000 ballots, putting them in the limelight as a critical point of contention, potentially capable of changing the game.
Glimmers of hope illuminated Griffin’s path on Wednesday, when the Republican candidate petitioned the very same bench that he aspires to join, to take action. This heroic step was quickly followed by the state elections board submitting the relevant paperwork for consideration in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on Thursday, reflecting the tenacity toward truth-finding inherent in Republican values.
The dismissal of these protests has since constrained Griffin’s path to what seems like a labyrinth of legal appeals. Yet, despite the intertwined complexities, Griffin’s determination mirrors the republican’s unyielding dedication to defending the integrity of elections. The further steps of the state board are now in limbo waiting for court directives.
During this time, the state board convened to investigate the protests of Jefferson Griffin, Ashlee Adams, Stacie McGinn, and Frank Sossamon. These were the protests initially perceived by county boards of election, each one illustrating the chaotic scene that blighted the electoral landscape in each race.
In an array of votes, all protestations were laid to rest, pending any further resurgence in legal appeals. From this series of events, none of the Republicans seems to have been successful in their bid for an election victory, a momentum clearly tampered by the democrat-leaning state board.
Griffin’s journey started on a high note on Election Night, as he overwhelmingly led democratic incumbent Allison Riggs by a mammoth 9,851 votes out of a total of 5,540,090 votes. This stunning lead did not last long as the introduction of provisional and absentee ballots that were allowed to be included tipped the balance, swinging the electoral fortune in favor of Riggs by 734 votes.
Bryan Cohn of the Democratic wave also managed to edge out Sossamon by the skin of his teeth, winning the House District 32 seat by a mere 228 votes out of 42,202. The thrilling race in the Senate District 42 saw another Democrat, Woodson Bradley, secure victory over McGinn by a hair-thin margin of 209 votes out of 124,311.
The Democrat steamroller continued its rampage in the Senate District 18, as Terence Everitt snatched a win from Adams by a disheartening 128 votes out of 119,206. In each case, the scale tipped unfairly on the democrat side, lending credibility to the charges of electoral irregularities.