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As a member of the Army National Guard in 2019 and 2020, Jefferson Griffin used a military absentee ballot to vote in North Carolina elections.
Now, Griffin is seeking to overturn the results of the state Supreme Court election that went against him, asking the court to disqualify about 5,500 people who voted the same way he did.
Since Democrat Alison Riggs was re-elected to the state Supreme Court by 734 votes last year, Griffin, now a Republican judge on the state Court of Appeals, has repeatedly tried to overturn her victory. Last week, the state Supreme Court’s Republican majority temporarily blocked certification of Mr. Riggs’ victory after Mr. Griffin filed a legal petition arguing that the election should be given to Mr. Riggs.
Mr. Griffin’s attorney argued at a news conference that votes cast by overseas voters and military voters should not be counted unless they also provide photo identification, such as a copy of their driver’s license. His position contradicts that of the State Board of Elections, which issued a rule before the election that such voters do not have to submit identification.
Mr. Griffin’s use of these military votes, confirmed by ProPublica using publicly available voting data and documents obtained through open records requests, has not previously been reported.
Two of Griffin’s absentee ballot requests were filed while he was deployed as a captain in the North Carolina Army National Guard and as a judge’s advocate. These were covered by a federal law called the Uniform Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (commonly known as UOCAVA).
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In August 2019, for the City Council election, Griffin requested an absentee ballot and checked the box confirming he was an “active duty uniformed military or merchant mariner and currently absent from the county of residence.” Ta. Griffin listed his address as Fort Bliss, Texas, and the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina Army National Guard.
In January 2020, Mr. Griffin applied for a similar absentee ballot for the March 2020 primary election and again checked the “active duty in uniformed military” box.
At the time, North Carolina did not have a law in place requiring in-person or absentee voters to provide a photo ID. (The law was passed in 2018, but did not take effect until the end of 2023.)
ProPublica sent Griffin a detailed list of questions, to which he responded: For me to do so would be a violation of the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct. ”
Riggs’ campaign manager, Embry Owen, criticized Griffin’s stance on the lawsuit. “Active military members serving our country overseas rely on their right to vote and have their voices heard under UOCAVA. The same is true for Foreign Service employees and missionaries on the ground,” Owen said. he said. “Any attempt to silence these voters is a disgrace to North Carolina’s democracy.”
As part of the legal battle, Griffin is challenging several categories of ballots, including more than 60,000 people, who are missing driver’s license or Social Security data. But his theory that such information is necessary for a legal vote has been repeatedly rejected by state election officials, federal judges appointed by President Donald Trump, and even the right-wing activists who originally promoted the theory. Ta. As ProPublica reported, activists at the virtual meeting called it “voter suppression” and said they were “100%” sure it would fail in court.
But in his latest legal briefing, Griffin prioritized the 5,500 UOCAVA ballots, telling the state Supreme Court to consider those ballots first and find it definitive that those ballots should be invalidated. The issue of the 5,500 UOCAVA ballots has become increasingly important as he has called for the election to be handed over to him if he does.
“In the Supreme Court dispute, 5,509 such votes were illegally cast,” Griffin’s lawyers said in a brief. “Judge Griffin predicts that if these illegal ballots are filtered out, he will win the election.”
A ProPublica investigation of contested ballots found that Mr. Griffin ignored votes from Republican areas and simply sought to disqualify UOCAVA votes in heavily Democratic counties. A data analysis by independent journalist Brian Anderson found that Democratic ballots are nearly five times more likely to be interrogated by Griffin than Republicans in North Carolina, even though Democrats and Republicans have roughly equal numbers of people. , and found that Democratic ballots were unfairly targeted.
“Judge Griffin’s targeting of military and overseas voters in four heavily Democratic counties clearly demonstrates his goal of retroactively voting to win elections he has already lost,” Owen said. said.
Griffin’s lawyers told the state Supreme Court that North Carolina law requires voters to show photo identification in person, so UOCAVA voters can also submit identification, such as by submitting a photo of their driver’s license. He argued that the presentation of the information should be mandatory.
But the State Election Commission has repeatedly ruled that UOCAVA voters do not need to do so. In rejecting Griffin’s challenge to the election results in December, the bipartisan commission unanimously rejected Griffin’s argument that UOCAVA ballots submitted without photo identification were illegal. , opinions on his other challenges were divided along partisan lines.
“We do not have the freedom to change the election rules that have been established,” Stacey Eggers IV, a Republican member of the board, said in voting to reject Griffin’s objections. “We have previously adopted a rule that military and overseas voters are not required to provide voter ID,” and “unless a court rules otherwise, we will be bound by that rule.” said.
Griffin made an unusual effort to get the issue heard before the Republican-controlled state Supreme Court, rather than first going through lower courts, as is standard procedure under state law. , filed a petition directly with the High Court. ProPublica reports that the court’s Republican chief justice, Paul Newby, has been described by Griffin as a “good friend and mentor,” and that most of the spouses of Republican judges have worked with Griffin in recent or past elections. He reported that he was donating to the movement.
The UOCAVA ballot is the primary voting method for U.S. military personnel stationed overseas and other Americans living overseas. Voters request an absentee ballot by submitting a Federal Postcard Application to the elections office, which then verifies eligibility and provides a ballot, which the voter can submit electronically or physically. I will mail it to. About 2.8 million Americans eligible to vote live overseas, and tens of thousands of them, including thousands of North Carolinians, have cast their ballots this way.
The North Carolina Supreme Court blocked certification of the justices’ victory. Activists fear it is “dangerous to democracy”.
Whether these ballots will be counted in the Griffin v. Riggs election is currently being considered in parallel legal proceedings before the North Carolina Supreme Court and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The state board and Riggs’ campaign have argued that the issue involves federal law and should be decided in federal court. Briefings and oral arguments are scheduled on both sides for the remainder of this month. Riggs will continue to defend his seat until the election is decided in court. This will be the last outstanding election in the country after 2024.
Claude Murray, a member of the veterans group Common Defense, whose vote was challenged by some members in North Carolina, criticized Griffin’s actions. “The right to vote is often taken for granted by Americans, but as veterans we know it is truly precious. Judge Griffin knows that, and we “We are choosing this path,” Murray said. “It is shameful that he is trying to invalidate thousands of votes, including those of military personnel and their families, just because he lost the election.”
Voting rights advocates have compiled a list of contested ballots in this election. You can check if your vote is among them here. If so, reporter Doug Bock Clark wants to hear your story. send him an email [email protected] Then, briefly describe your experience and why you feel challenged. Also, if you have information about the North Carolina Supreme Court or the state court system that you think we should know, please contact us. Clark can be reached securely by phone or Signal at 678-243-0784. If you’re concerned about confidentiality, check out our advice on the safest way to share your tips.
