The North Carolina Supreme Court has intervened to block the certification of Democratic Justice Allison Riggs as the winner of her recent election, pending a review of a legal challenge from her GOP opponent, Judge Jefferson Griffin. In a significant development on Tuesday, the court voted 5-1 to issue a temporary stay that will prevent the state Board of Elections from declaring Riggs the victor in a race that has garnered much attention due to its slim margin of just 734 votes out of over 5.5 million ballots cast (AP News, Salon, The Hill).

Griffin is challenging the legitimacy of over 60,000 ballots, claiming that the voters’ registration applications were incomplete due to missing Social Security or driver's license numbers and asserting that such ballots should not have been counted. This challenge comes after two recounts confirmed Riggs’ electoral victory (The Hill).

The GOP-majority court has ordered that both Griffin and the State Board of Elections submit legal briefs concerning his challenge, with Griffin's arguments due by January 14 and subsequent replies from the board and Griffin expected by later this month (Salon).

Riggs has recused herself from proceedings related to her race, and Justice Anita Earls dissented, arguing the Griffin team has “no likelihood of success on the merits” and that the court should refrain from interfering in the democratic process. Democratic leaders have voiced their concerns regarding the potential repercussions of these challenges on voter integrity, emphasizing that many affected voters may not have been informed of issues with their ballots (AP News).

As this legal process unfolds, the spotlight remains on how the North Carolina Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, will ultimately impact the legitimacy of the election results in a deeply divided political landscape.