North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs says she will continue her legal fight to have the votes of military service members and overseas voters count in her race for reelection.
Riggs plans to appeal a decision by the state Supreme Court that could throw out thousands of absentee ballots.
Riggs, a Democrat, leads Republican Jefferson Griffin by 734 votes in the race to keep her seat on the Supreme Court, but Griffin is contesting ballots for thousands of troops and overseas voters who did not submit photo IDs.
The Republican-majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Friday the state should have required those voters to submit photo IDs, and it set up a 30-day window for them to provide identification or have their ballots thrown out. Under Friday's decision, the ballots cast by people determined not in compliance with residency laws can't count, however.
In the same decision, the Court ruled a larger category of contested ballots should stand. Those were cast by voters in the state whose registrations lacked a driver's license number or Social Security number. The court said those omissions might have been due to errors by the State Board of Elections.
It's unknown whether the smaller category of contested ballots cast by overseas and military voters could tip the outcome of the election. Some of Griffin's post-election protests affected potentially thousands of voters in Democratic-leaning counties, meaning the removal of those ballots from the final tally could benefit him.
At a press conference that gathered more than 100 people outside the North Carolina General Assembly this morning, Riggs said the fight is personal, because her father and brother served in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I am standing here today as your Supreme Court justice, but also as a daughter, a sister, and a proud North Carolinian who is committed to standing up for our service members and their families, just like they stand up for us," Riggs said.
Riggs, who recused herself from the Supreme Court deliberations, said she will appeal the ruling in federal court.
"As soon as that ruling came down on Friday, my legal team was already moving in federal court," Riggs said.
Other groups filed federal actions early Monday seeking to prevent the vote-curing process from taking place or throwing out ballots. They include the state Democratic Party, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina and some of the voters who were told they didn't have to provide IDs.
Riggs said "the eyes of the country" are on North Carolina, because if Griffin succeeds, losing candidates could use his legal strategy in future elections.
"We see national politicians using this race as a test case to overturn elections if the people in power don't like who won," Riggs said.
State senator Val Applewhite, D-Cumberland, spoke at Riggs' rally, defending the votes of many of her constituents stationed at Fort Bragg. Applewhite is an Air Force veteran.
"When you serve your country, you don't ask for special treatment. You ask for fairness, you ask for respect, and above all, you expect for your vote to count," Applewhite said.
Citing the state's judicial conduct code, Griffin campaign spokesperson Paul Shumaker said Griffin couldn't comment on the case before the court, adding that it was 鈥渄isturbing鈥� that Riggs was holding rallies on the issue.
鈥淭he Court ruling on Friday is consistent with our request, and clearly, the matter warrants a thorough review, which the Courts have set forth," Shumaker said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
