ASHEBORO – The Randolph County Board of Elections will conduct a hearing at 4 p.m. Dec. 2 to consider an election protest filed by Judge Jefferson Griffin.
Based on a filing with Randolph County, the matter involves a challenge to the voting eligibility of six alleged Randolph County voters.
Griffin, a Republican, is involved in the race for North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice, Seat 6. Democrat incumbent Allison Riggs is the other candidate.
The hearing will be held at the Board of Elections office at 1457 N. Fayetteville St. in Asheboro.
As of Nov. 18, Riggs held a lead of 66 votes, based on one report. A couple of days earlier, the reported margin was 24 votes in favor of Riggs.
Vote totals for both candidates show more than 2,769,400 votes.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections provided the following statement: “The county boards of elections shall retain jurisdiction over all other protests that have been timely filed and shall proceed to consider these protests …”
Griffin, in conjunction with the North Carolina Republican Party, sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
The protest from Griffin was filed Nov. 19. The Randolph County Board of Elections convened for preliminary consideration of Griffin’s protest.
In all six cases, the protests were filed “on the grounds that each such voter was deceased on election day and thus no longer qualified to vote under North Carolina law, as interpreted by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.”
At the county’s Nov. 15 canvass of votes, the daughter of one of the deceased appeared to contest the disqualification of the ballot of her recently deceased mother (Mary Greenwood). She died prior to Nov. 5 (Election Day). The board disqualified Greenwood’s ballot.
The protest hearing will address six other voters whose eligibility to vote has been challenged by Griffin. Evidence will be presented that the none of the six voters whose eligibility were challenged cast ballots that were included in vote totals reported by the county’s Board of Elections.
