Case Summary
The League of Women Voters of North Carolina and several individual voters filed suit in federal court to ensure that every vote from the 2024 general election was counted in the North Carolina Supreme Court race. The state supreme court in Griffin v. NCSBE had ruled that, of the roughly 65,000 votes challenged by Judge Jefferson Griffin, approximately 60,000 votes would be counted. However, over 5,000 legally cast ballots could still be thrown out under its order. LWVNC's suit aimed to protect individuals, including LWVNC members, who voted from overseas through the approved method, and asserted that failing to count these ballots would violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, and the fundamental right to vote.
After losing a North Carolina state Supreme Court race in the November 2024 general election, Judge Jefferson Griffin contested the ballots of over 65,000 North Carolina voters and attempted to retroactively alter the rules of the election to get those votes thrown out. Ongoing cases in federal and state court led to varying decisions. The League of Women Voters of North Carolina (LWVNC) previously filed an amicus brief in the case of Griffin v. North Carolina State Board of Elections in federal district court, which was paused while proceedings occurred in North Carolina state courts.
On April 11, 2025, in a state court case, the North Carolina Supreme Court (NCSC) ruled that approximately 60,000 voters with “incomplete” registrations would have their votes counted. However, certain military and overseas voters and voters considered to be “never residents” (those who allegedly have never lived in the US but were born to citizens of North Carolina) remained at risk of having their vote thrown out. The NCSC ordered that approximately 500 “never residents” would have their votes thrown out with no chance to remedy issues with their ballot. The military and overseas voters in four counties, the only ones Griffin challenged, were provided 30 days, once notified by their county board of elections, to “cure” their ballot by including a photo ID.
On April 14, 2025, LWVNC and several individual voters filed a complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina to stop the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) from beginning the 30-day cure period for military and overseas voters and from throwing out the “never resident” ballots. LWWNC sued on behalf of its members and North Carolina voters. The complaint alleged several violations of the plaintiffs’ rights to due process, the fundamental right to vote, and equal protection.
LWVNC is represented by Protect Democracy, Harvard Law School Election Law Clinic, and Altshuler Berzon LLP.
LWV Timeline
LWVNC files suit in federal court
LWVNC files a complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order in federal district court in North Carolina, seeking to prevent overseas voters from having their votes thrown out.
District court consolidates cases
The district court issues an order consolidating the League's case with two other cases, one brought by Justice Riggs and another brought by the Democratic Party, challenging the North Carolina Supreme Court's decision to allow votes of some overseas and military voters and "never resident" voters to be potentially thrown out.
District court issues ruling
The district court orders the NCSBE to certify the election results declaring that retroactively throwing out the challenged overseas and military voters' votes would violate their constitutional right to substantive due process, equal protection, and the "never residents'" rights to procedural due process.