Follow the Saga of "The Griffin List"

Of all of the races in the 2024 election, only one has yet to be certified—the election for a seat on the North Carolina State Supreme Court. Readers of Democracy in the Balance are familiar with this race, which was the subject of THIS post and THIS post.

Why do I keep writing about this election?

Simply put, if the Republican candidate—Jefferson Griffin, who lost to Allison Riggs by 734 votes after two recounts—prevails in his effort to throw a temper tantrum and toss out thousands of votes, it will provide the playbook for Republicans to steal elections for years to come.

What’s the current status?

This case has had all manner of unpredictable twists and turns, including a major development yesterday afternoon. But first, let’s back up to last Friday, April 11. That’s when Riggs’ colleagues on the state supreme court ruled that around 60,000 ballots that Jefferson Griffin had challenged—"The Griffin List"—will be counted. Somewhat offsetting that good news, though, they also issued a 30-day “cure” period for more than 5,500 military and overseas votes that did not provide a photo ID under the state’s new stringent voter ID law. And it threw out about 200 ballots cast by overseas voters who claim North Carolina as their residence because their parents live there.

Fast forward five days, in another plot twist, the state Board of Elections determined that only 1,409 ballots from military and overseas voters from a single county—Guilford County—are subject to challenge. Griffin apparently submitted the additional challenges in three other Democratic-leaning counties after the state deadline.

Who is on the list?

The original list consisted of 65,782 registered North Carolina voters. Among those were 60,273 legal voters whose presented an ID to vote in the November 2024 election. Griffin sued the state Board of Elections to have them nullified but as of now, they will be counted. The original list also includes 5,509 military members and overseas voters who were exempted from the photo ID requirement under the new voting law and had no way to provide a photo ID when they voted.

Why are they on the list?

Because of clerical errors in the state Division of Motor Vehicles or Social Security Administration databases, 60,273 registered voters do not have their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their social security numbers in their voter file. They are nevertheless entitled to vote if they show a valid ID, as they all did. Here’s the thing: The state GOP knew about these omissions for more than a year and were waiting for a close election to roll out a lawsuit.

What should I do if I’m on the list?

Contact your county’s Board of Elections office, which you can find by scrolling down to the bottom of the "The Griffin List" webpage, to update your voter file for future elections. The North Carolina Board of Elections recommends that affected voters who have a license from the DMV go to payments.ncdot.gov to fill out a voter registration application, which will automatically update your existing voter registration.

For service members and others from Guilford County who were overseas when they voted, the county Board of Elections will “cure” those ballots—in other words, the board will review documentation submitted with the ballots to determine whether voters failed to include ID. Ballots of voters who submitted ID or an exception form will not be challenged. Voters who failed to include ID or an exception form must provide a photo ID within 30 days “after the mailing of notice” for their votes to be counted.

I’m not on the list. What should I do?

Take solace in the fact that the courts, by and large, have prevented tens of thousands of North Carolinians from being disenfranchised. Even the Republican-controlled state supreme court ruled that 60,273 votes targeted by Griffin should reinstated. But until the election is certified, anything could happen. Riggs told a crowd of supporters on Monday that she will “fight as long as it takes.”

Sources: Associated Press, DemocracyDocket.com, NC Newsline, Protect Democracy, Slate.com, Vox