A rally drew crowds to uptown Charlotte on Monday to protest Republican Jefferson Griffin's efforts to toss out tens of thousands of votes in the disputed North Carolina Supreme Court race.
Hundreds of people gathered at Marshall Park to protest. They held banners that read "Protect our votes" and "Shame on Griffin" as they marched to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. Griffin is hoping to change the results of his election loss to incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs.
Griffin is seeking to have more than 65,000 ballots thrown out, mostly because his campaign and the Republican Party claim the voters’ registration lacked some required data. The case is headed for the North Carolina Supreme Court, where both Riggs and Griffin hope to sit.
Many of those whose ballots were challenged have voted for years without incident, however.
Charlotte resident Laphaedra Howard spoke at the protest. Her husband is one of those Griffin is contesting.
"He was very upset about it. Very upset about it. Like, how did they pick him?" Howard said. "We have the same address, we live in the same home. How did you just go down a list of people, and say, ‘Hey, here's a good one.’ He doesn't usually vote in the primaries but in the general election, every time."
Henry Young lives in the University City area.
"It's pretty irritating when you vote and your votes then don't count, and that's exactly what's happening with this," he said. "(Riggs) was fairly and freely elected. ... It feels like they want to change things so that they win. And that's why we're out here. We're mad as hell."
After multiple recounts, Riggs leads the race by 734 votes, and the case is tied up in court. "The People v. Griffin" rally was hosted by Common Cause North Carolina one of several groups behind the event. The Charlotte rally was one of over a dozen protests that are scheduled to take place across the state.
Also Monday, the North Carolina Board of Elections filed a petition asking the state Supreme Court to hear the dispute immediately, without waiting for the appeals court to take up the issue. The N.C. Supreme Court is controlled by Republicans. Even a ruling from that court might not be the end of it, however, as Riggs or Griffin could still appeal to federal court.
