North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin and North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Allison Riggs. (North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts via AP)
"The State Board SHALL certify the results of the election for Seat 6 based on the tally at the completion of the canvassing period on December 10, 2024," Myers wrote, denying Griffin’s petitions for judicial review and injunctive relief.
The judge delayed his order for seven days in case Griffin wants to appeal the ruling to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
More than 5.5 million ballots were cast in what has been the nation’s last undecided race from November’s elections.
Myers said the "case concerns whether the federal Constitution permits a state to alter the rules of an election after the fact and apply those changes retroactively to only a select group of voters, and in so doing treat those voters differently than other similarly situated individuals."
The board "must not proceed with implementation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court’s orders, and instead must certify the results of the election for (the seat) based on the tally at the completion of the canvassing period," Myers wrote.
Griffin, himself a state Court of Appeals judge, filed formal protests after the election in hopes that removing ballots he said were unlawfully cast would flip the outcome to him.
Griffin's legal team was reviewing Myers' order Monday night and evaluating the next steps, Griffin campaign spokesperson Paul Shumaker told the Associated Press.
Judge Jefferson Griffin, the Republican candidate for the N.C. Supreme Court, listens to testimony in Wake County Superior Court on Friday, February 7, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP, File)
"You establish the rules before the game. You don’t change them after the game is done," Myers wrote in a 68-page order. "Permitting parties to ‘upend the set rules’ of an election after the election has taken place can only produce ‘confusion and turmoil'" that "'threatens to undermine public confidence in the federal courts, state agencies, and the elections themselves,'" he added.
One category of ballots that state appellate courts found to be ineligible covered military or overseas voters who did not provide copies of photo identification or an ID exception form with their absentee ballots. A state rule exempted them from the requirement. The appeals courts had permitted a "cure" process for these voters, so their ballots could still count in the race.
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The other category of ballots that the appellate courts declared violated the state constitution were cast by overseas voters who have never lived in the U.S. but whose parents were declared North Carolina residents. A state law had authorized these persons to vote in state elections.
Griffin filed formal protests that appeared to cover more than 65,000 ballots. Ensuing state court rulings whittled down the total to between 1,675 and 7,000, according to court filings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-orders-nc-certify-supreme-court-election-results-democrat-leading