Why stop at 60,000?

Jefferson Griffin’s inability to accept the outcome of the Supreme Court election knows no limits. It says a lot when a judge isn’t willing to accept the verdict. Losing by 734 votes has to be disappointing but losing by any number is difficult. However, throughout our history, those on the short end of the vote have accepted their verdict (except for one) and moved on.

Using the now common Republican playbook, Griffin refuses to accept defeat, despite multiple recounts showing otherwise. He called on the State Board of Elections to throw out 60,000 votes which he says are illegal because they do not contain the driver’s license number or last four digits of their Social Security Number, as required by law.

To be clear there is NO evidence that any fraud occurred. Those 60,000 votes in question were allowed for all other elections. Further, the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals had already ruled in October on the matter. You might remember the State Republican Party sought to throw out 200,000 votes on much the same grounds, but that court said those voters were allowed and state courts were not to take up the matter.

How does Jefferson know there are 60,000? From what database did he get those numbers? Did he count them one by one? Maybe there are more…many more. We can’t know for certain unless the State Board of Elections reviews all 7.6 million registered voters in our state. While at it, the board should also review EVERY registration to see if there are any other abnormalities.

Since we are opening Pandora’s legendary box let’s determine if those discredited votes might have impacted any other election outcomes. Is it possible that we would find that other losing candidates were in fact winners? Should all elections be reviewed?

There is irony in Griffin asking for 60,000 votes to be tossed. This judge, so conscientious about the law, apparently doesn’t think it applies to him. When the State Board of Elections declared Riggs had won, the law allowed Griffin to appeal that decision to the Wake County Superior Court. But the deadline for that appeal passed without any word from Griffin. By law he has no case. But that didn’t deter Griffin.

Curiously, we hear, the National Republican Party is considering joining this circus. What’s next?

This farcical episode became even more comical when a federal court tossed the appeal back to our state, meaning the people making the decision about whether to throw out 60,000 votes are the members of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Allison Riggs, a current justice, has correctly and honorably recused herself. Prior to November there were 5 Republicans and 2 Democrats on the court. Now it is a 5-1 court, one which has previously voted along party lines.

Surprise, surprise. The vote whether or not to accept Griffin’s appeal was 4-2, with all the Republicans save one (Richard Dietz) voting in favor of allowing the appeal.

Dietz agreed the deadline for Griffin to appeal had passed. Said Dietz, "Permitting post-election litigation that seeks to rewrite our state’s election rules — and, as a result, remove the right to vote in an election from people who already lawfully voted under the existing rules — invites incredible mischief. It will lead to doubts about the finality of vote counts following an election, encourage novel legal challenges that greatly delay certification of the results, and fuel an already troubling decline in public faith in our elections."

 Either willingly or unwillingly, our Supreme Court has created a further schism in people’s trust in the justice system. From this point forward their decisions will be suspect, especially if there is any hint of partisanship. And any vote Griffin should cast, if he becomes a Justice, will be subject to appeal on grounds the decision was made by a court illegally constituted. Once again, we see proof why voting for judges is absurd, most especially so because they have to reveal their political affiliation.

 Finally, not only does this court decision fan flames of distrust in our justice system but furthers distrust of our entire system of elections.

 So much for lady justice being blindfolded.

 Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965.  Contact him at tomcamp@carolinabroadcasting.com