A sign guides voters at the Dare County Administration Building in Manteo on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin is protesting votes cast in every county, including four pages of Dare County voters. (Photo by Corinne Saunders)
By Corinne Saunders
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MANTEO — Four pages of Dare County voters, representing nearly 200 ballots, are among the thousands of ballots statewide that 2024 Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin seeks to purge.
“I’m shocked to find out that I’m on that list,” Barbara Davidson of Southern Shores said. “I’m very much alive and a registered voter.”
Griffin lost the Nov. 5 election for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat to Democratic candidate Allison Riggs by 734 votes. He requested a recount on Nov. 19, court documents show, and on the same day filed over 300 protests in all 100 North Carolina counties.
This is the second recount Griffin has requested, after Riggs’ lead of 734 votes out of over 5.5 million ballots cast remained unchanged after a first recount, according to a Dec. 6 article in NC Newsline’s The Pulse.
Griffin is protesting more than 60,000 ballots, and three Republican legislative candidates are also protesting ballots based on the same arguments, the NC Newsline article said. The North Carolina Democratic Party filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 6 to block the erasure of votes Republicans are requesting from the State Board of Elections.
“If you received a notice from the North Carolina Republican Party stating, ‘Your vote may be affected by one or more protests filed in relation to the 2024 general election,’ it means that Mr. Griffin has alleged that your ballot is ineligible,” a public notice posted on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website says.
The State Board of Elections and the county boards of elections “are considering these challenges in the coming weeks,” according to that notice.
Griffin’s election protests fall under six categories, alleging “multiple irregularities or violations of North Carolina election law that affected the outcome of the Supreme Court race,” according to a “Motion to Expedite” that his legal team filed in Wake County on Monday, Dec. 2.
The six categories are:
· that voters’ registrations were “incomplete and noncompliant with North Carolina law;”
· that voters never resided in North Carolina;
· that overseas voters did not present photo identification in accordance with the law;
· that votes from deceased people were counted;
· that votes from convicted felons who hadn’t had their voting rights restored were counted;
· and that votes from non-registered voters were counted.
The Dare County list alleges “incomplete” voter registrations due to voters not providing a driver license or social security number when registering. However, nearly all the people on the Dare County list have active, verified voter registrations, according to the list.
Several people on the Dare County list that Outer Banks Insider contacted Sunday are longtime county residents who don’t fall into any of the alleged categories. Only one knew their name was on the list before speaking with Outer Banks Insider.
Rory McFarlane, a Kitty Hawk resident of 16 years, said he has voted without issue in every election except for a couple primaries since turning 18 and registering as a Democrat in 2016.
“To me, someone who’s been paying attention, the NCGOP has a sordid history of weaselly political tactics to get their way, from gerrymandering to getting Democratic legislators to switch parties to abusing loopholes and using deliberately vague language in drafting bills,” McFarlane wrote in a Sunday email to Outer Banks Insider.
“When I learned that through no fault of my own, one of the most basic rights I have as a citizen was being infringed on, I was more annoyed than anything else,” he added.
McFarlane’s mom, Susan Sawin—who ran as a Democrat representing Dare in the 2024 election for the District 1 House of Representatives seat and lost to incumbent Rep. Ed Goodwin (R-Chowan)—“notified me that Jefferson Griffin had called for my vote to be thrown out.”
Three other Dare County residents on the list who responded to requests for comment said they didn’t previously know about it.
One Dare County resident who wished to remain anonymous said that their voter registration is active and that they have had the same address and have voted in Dare County since 2015.
Davidson said she moved to Dare County in 2020 and has voted here in every election since. She noted that she has voted in almost every election her whole adult life.
“I’m such a firm believer in voting,” Davidson said. “The thought of being stripped of my vote when I’ve done nothing wrong is so upsetting.”
The NCGOP and Griffin’s legal team have “diligently worked to ensure transparency and fairness in the election process,” according to a Dec. 3 release on the GOP website about Griffin’s motion to expedite “adjudication of properly filed election protests.”
“Our priority remains ensuring that every legal vote is counted and that the public can trust the integrity of this election,” NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer said in the release.
But McFarlane insists his registration is not “incomplete,” as Griffin alleges.
“Voter suppression is a real issue, and it affects so many people, especially people of color and other minorities,” he said. “I guess in my white privilege, I assumed it wouldn’t happen to me. But I guess this is the age we’re living in.”
McFarlane added: “There’s a saying I’ve heard recently that keeps popping in my head, ‘Even if you don’t do politics, politics will find a way to do you.’ So I encourage people to understand how and why being involved in local, state and federal politics makes a difference.”
According to the State Board of Elections’ notice: “If you would like to get in touch with the parties to this proceeding, the email address for the candidate bringing the challenges is info@jeffersongriffin.com. The email address for the candidate opposing the challenges is team@riggsforourcourts.com.”
See the Dare County list below:
Editor’s Note: Strong local journalism directly impacts your quality of life. You’re busy, and attempting to stay on top of all the important issues that affect you and your community can be taxing. We are here to stand watch for you, making sure you stay informed about what’s happening in our area, all while providing an advertisement-free, easy-on-the-eyes platform, for less than the cost of a bag of chips a month. Stay informed, strengthen your community and hold people accountable for their actions. Subscribe today.
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