North Carolina election officials reject further recounts as Republican candidate falls short

In North Carolina, election officials recently decided against ordering another recount for a close state Supreme Court race. The Republican candidate, Jefferson Griffin, was trailing Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs by 734 votes after a machine recount of over 5.5 million ballots was conducted. A partial hand recount did not yield any results to suggest Griffin could reclaim the lead. Despite past claims of leading by around 10,000 votes on election night, the race shifted as additional provisional and absentee ballots were counted. The State Board of Elections was set to consider protests filed by Griffin and other GOP candidates against more than 60,000 ballots, challenging their legitimacy primarily based on voter registration issues. The board, composed mainly of Democrats, sided with the Democratic candidates, stating that these protests are an illegal attempt to alter election results post-voting. Despite claims of election law violations from Griffin's legal team, the board dismissed the protests as they deemed all voters to be eligible. Riggs' campaign, asserting her victory, called for Griffin to concede, as the election results remained unresolved. Background details reveal this race is part of larger partisan tensions over voting rights and election laws in the state, which have spurred ongoing court battles and lawsuits from both parties. Though the election board's decision concluded this aspect of the electoral process, the political contest's implications continue to resonate amidst concerns of voter eligibility and electoral integrity across North Carolina.