US appeals court pauses NC elections board action in the Supreme Court election case
US appeals court pauses NC elections board action in the Supreme Court election case
by Lynn Bonner, NC Newsline
April 23, 2025
A federal appeals court ordered the State Board of Elections not to send information to overseas or military absentee voters about providing photo ID, granting a stay that Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs requested. It’s the latest development in the nearly six-month-old dispute over last November’s election for an associate justice seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Federal District Judge Richard Myers II told the Board of Elections earlier this month to prepare to act on the state high court’s instructions to notify some military and overseas absentee voters they need to supply photo ID for their votes in last fall’s election for a seat on the high court to count.
Tuesday’s 2-1 Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals order stops that action before Myers makes a decision on Riggs’ request for a preliminary injunction.
The state Supreme Court agreed with GOP Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin that military and overseas absentee voters in certain counties should have had to provide photo ID when they cast ballots in last fall’s election.
Griffin is trying to unseat Riggs, an incumbent Democrat on the Supreme Court. He trails by 734 votes. In an attempt to win, he wants thousands of votes in the race erased. He is challenging overseas and military voters in a handful of counties. The Supreme Court rejected Griffin’s attempt to throw out more than 60,000 votes based on his claim of incomplete voter registrations.
The Supreme Court said overseas and military voters would have 30 days to “cure” their ballots once the Board of Elections sent out notices.
Riggs filed a federal appeal. Myers told the Board of Elections to get to work implementing the Supreme Court order, but to not certify a winner.
Judges Paul V. Niemeyer, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and Toby J. Heytens, appointed by President Joe Biden, decided to grant the stay. Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., appointed by President Donald Trump, dissented.
The state Board of Elections told local elections administrators last week not to contact overseas or military voters, citing the ongoing litigation.
NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com.
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