Under the Dome: Riggs holds onto slim lead as NC Supreme Court recount nears end
Good Thanksgiving morning and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter. I’m Emily Vespa. First up, an update on the state Supreme Court contest from Kyle Ingram.
With at least 93 counties having finished their recounts of the North Carolina Supreme Court race, Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs maintained her slim lead over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin.
Riggs netted a loss of at least 89 votes throughout the recount, but remained over 600 votes ahead of Griffin as of Wednesday evening.
Those numbers may shift as more counties report their recount totals.
Randolph and Wilson counties were among those whose recount results were not yet available on Wednesday.
To conduct the recount, bipartisan county boards of elections reinserted all ballots into a tabulator and counted only the contests eligible for a recount.
According to the State Board of Elections, small variances are expected between the original election results and the recount results. This is because partial or stray marks on a ballot may be counted differently the second time they are put through a machine.
If Riggs is certified as the winner of the race, she will prevent Republicans from growing their majority on the state Supreme Court, which is currently 5 to 2. Riggs and Justice Anita Earls are the only Democrats on the high court.
Even though Riggs has maintained her lead, the state still must consider a barrage of election protests filed by Griffin before a winner can be determined.
Griffin alleges that over 60,000 ballots cast in the election may be ineligible.
Among the challenged voters are Riggs’ own parents, which she says shows that legitimate voters are being “unfairly attacked.”
Final briefs are due in Griffin’s protest case on Dec. 6.
MORROW ON STATEWIDE GLSEN CHAPTER
Wake County school board member Lynn Edmonds says she’s working with parents and other elected officials to start a statewide chapter of GLSEN to protect transgender students.
Edmonds said she and the parent of a transgender student will meet next week with GLSEN representatives to talk about next steps. Edmonds said the new GLSEN chapter is needed because trans students were “targeted over the course of the 2024 elections.”
“GLSEN has been doing this work for decades and what I like about them is they have a very specific focus on the safety and well-being of K-12 youth and ensuring K-12 schools are safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth,” Edmonds said at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
The incoming Trump administration is expected to take steps such as rolling back the Biden administration’s expansion of Title IX protections to transgender students.
Edmonds said that trans students will continue to be in schools for the next four years so “it is our responsibility and duty to ensure their safety and well-being while they are in our care.”
Edmonds’ announcement drew complaints from conservatives. Michele Morrow, who was defeated in 2022 for a seat on the Wake school board and this fall in the race for state superintendent of public instruction, urged newly elected GOP State Auditor Dave Boliek to audit the district.
“The Wake County School Board, and others around N.C. and the country have TOTALLY lost sight of the PURPOSE of education!” Morrow posted Wednesday on X, previously called Twitter. “They are pushing DANGEROUS, DIVISIVE and DECEPTIVE agendas on our vulnerable children!! They must be stopped!! No ONE is in the wrong body!”
– T. Keung Hui
HOW NC’S VOTER ID LAW IMPACTED THE ELECTION
This year, North Carolina’s long-challenged voter ID law was finally put to the test. People who didn’t present a photo ID at the polls could still cast a ballot, which was later researched by bipartisan county boards of elections that decided whether to count the vote.
From Kyle Ingram, here’s what we know about the law’s impact on the election, in which more than 5.7 million voters cast a ballot:
Roughly 7,000 people cast a ballot after being unable to provide a photo ID. Of those, over 2,000 were eventually r ejected.
About 42% of ballots rejected for ID reasons were cast by registered Democrats. A quarter came from registered Republicans, and unaffiliated voters were responsible for roughly 30%.
There’s no way of knowing how many potential voters didn’t cast a ballot because they didn’t have a valid ID.
NC FIRE MARSHAL REBUKES HELENE MISINFORMATION
Misinformation has plagued Hurricane Helene recovery efforts since the storm devastated Western North Carolina, and some is still circulating. This week, the North Carolina state fire marshal rebuked claims that state and local authorities evicted storm survivors from temporary housing after the claims sprang up on social media.
A Saturday X post by right-wing news website National File claimed agencies kicked people out of “Amish-built” housing in storm-affected areas because they didn’t meet building codes. State Fire Marshal Bryan Taylor said his office investigated the claim and “found no credible evidence” to substantiate it.
Still, the Office of the State Fire Marshal has been subjected to harassment as a result of the misinformation, Taylor said in a letter issued Monday. Local officials in Western North Carolina’s Mitchell County have received death threats over the claims, the county said on Facebook.
“These threats are unacceptable, especially when issued to OSFM employees who have worked tirelessly since late September to assist with recovery efforts in Western North Carolina,” Taylor wrote.
State and local officials have said that temporary housing must meet building codes for the safety of occupants. Taylor said the state fire marshal’s office has worked with local inspection departments, which enforce the code, to give guidance on how to streamline the inspection process and ensure temporary shelters meet safety requirements.
WHAT ELSE WE’RE READING
Republicans have gradually gained ground in rural North Carolina counties that once leaned Democratic. Border Belt Independent and The Assembly hone in on Bladen County to explain the shift.
Today’s newsletter was by Emily Vespa, Kyle Ingram and T. Keung Hui. This newsletter will take a break tomorrow through Sunday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Check your inbox Tuesday for more #ncpol.
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