Today, the DNC hosted a press call featuring DNC Chair Ken Martin, DNC Vice Chair for Civic Engagement & Voter Participation Reyna Walters-Morgan, North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton, and North Carolina Representative Phil Rubin to call out Jefferson Griffin and North Carolina Republicans for their assault on a fair and free election. North Carolina’s state Supreme Court race is the only remaining  race from 2024 still not called, yet disgraced loser state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin refuses to concede – despite multiple recounts confirming his loss. Instead, Griffin escalated his attacks on North Carolinians through the state’s Court of Appeals, on which he sits, which ruled last Friday that 65,000 legal North Carolina voters must prove their eligibility six months after Election Day. 

During the call, the speakers laid out the facts: Justice Allison Riggs is the rightful winner of this election and Republicans are shamelessly attempting to cherry-pick their voters after Election Day. Democrats will use every tool available to defend against these attacks and preserve North Carolinians’ constitutional rights. 

Find highlights from the call below: 

“A desperate loser named Jefferson Griffin has tried to repeatedly change the rules of the election to baselessly contest the results of this race. They have had two recounts, endless court dates, and still, he is trying to throw out eligible votes and overturn the results, all on the taxpayers’ dime,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin. “Republicans across the country watch closely for a new green light to cherry pick elections in their favor. What’s happening in North Carolina goes beyond state borders. If Republicans are successful in changing the rules post-election and throwing away valid votes, this will have broad implications, serious repercussions, on elections across the country for years to come.”

“Griffin’s hypocrisy knows no bounds, and he is desperate to rewrite history, change the election rules after the fact, and thwart the will of the people. His lawsuits attempt to cherry pick voters, and he’s targeted democratic counties in his efforts. It’s intentional in terms of where he selected to challenge these voters. As a reminder, his target list includes registered voters who are required to show ID to early vote in November of 2024. These voters followed all the rules in effect on Election Day, and they did nothing wrong. This is what makes the Court of Appeals ruling last Friday so egregious,” said DNC Vice Chair for Civic Engagement & Voter Participation Reyna Walters-Morgan. “As the courts continue to weigh in, Democrats will be there every step of the way. We will ensure that voters understand that Republicans are trying to steal an election in plain sight. Democrats will provide the tools and information that North Carolinians need to ensure that their vote counts, and we will fight to ensure that the will of the voters is heard loud and clear.”

“Now, Republicans have wasted enough time and energy trying to litigate away their losses and deny the will of the people, and as we wait for further instruction from the courts and the state Board of Elections in North Carolina, North Carolina Democrats, along with the DNC, are preparing for every scenario possible to make sure, at the end of the day, North Carolina votes are counted in this last election,” said North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton. “North Carolinians are taking the fight to Republicans. It is a bedrock principle that voters should be able to rely on the rules of Election Day to get their votes counted, and future voters shouldn’t be held accountable to rules made up by lawyers and partisan judges months after an election is over with.”

“We should see this as premeditated attacks on voters and premeditated attacks on democracy itself. What is rewarded is repeated, and even though he will lose his challenges in the end, Judge Griffin’s tactics have lasted long enough that we should count on seeing them nationwide in future elections, and that is why we have to act now,” said North Carolina state Representative Phil Rubin. “I want to emphasize what the other leaders on this call have emphasized, about how dangerous Jefferson Griffin’s conduct is, and how dangerous it is that the North Carolina Court of Appeals has now encouraged it. It risks every future election becoming an attack on the voters themselves. And this bill, the Voter Protection and Reliance Act, aims to shut a door that should never have been opened.”