As Griffin case drags on, some NC voters can’t help but feel ‘targeted’
by Sarah Michels, Carolina Public Press March 21, 2025
RALEIGH — In less than 24 hours, Danielle Brown left an out-of-state bus tour, came home to North Carolina to cast a vote in the 2024 general election and then boarded a plane to rejoin the tour. Now, her vote is one of nearly 67,000 ballots contested by Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin as part of his attempt to overturn his apparent loss to Democratic Judge Allison Riggs for a seat onthe state Supreme Court.
On Election Night, Griffin appeared to be the victor. However, as provisional and absentee ballots were counted, he slowly lost his lead. By the time election staff tallied official results during their canvasses, Riggs was up by a mere 734 votes. Two recounts confirmed Riggs’ win.
Griffin then filed a series of election protests attempting to discard tens of thousands of ballots from the count, on grounds that the State Board of Elections illegally allowed certain categories of voters to cast a ballot. In the past four months, Griffin’s election protests have journeyed through state and federal courts.
On Friday, a panel of N.C. Court of Appeals judges heard the latest arguments and will decide whether a lower state court was right to affirm the State Board of Elections’ dismissal of Griffin’s protests.
Attorneys for Griffin, Riggs and the State Board covered much of the same territory of the past few months. Their arguments centered on whether the election rules the board established for the 2024 general election were the correct ones, and if they weren’t, whether the law allows Griffin to retroactively remove votes from the count.
Whatever the appellate court decides will be subject to appeal. The case will most likely return to the state Supreme Court, which previously paused election certification until the case is resolved but declined to take it up early.
What Griffin is disputing
Griffin is challenging ballots cast by three categories of voters.
First, he contests the ballots of over 60,000 people Griffin alleges were improperly registered to vote because they didn’t provide either a driver’s license or social security number under a faulty voter registration form. The State Board argues that voters who don’t have these numbers have to prove their identity at the polls, so their votes are valid.
Second, Griffin seeks to remove votes of about 5,500 military and overseas voters who did not include a photo ID with their absentee ballots. He argues that the State Board misinterpreted state law by allowing this category of voters to skip voter ID requirements.
Third, Griffin identified about 500 voters, who he calls “Never Residents,” who don’t live in North Carolina but claim inherited residency through a special state law provision. He argues that the state law violates the North Carolina Constitution’s residency requirements, and therefore, those votes should not count.
‘Taking it very personally’
As the case continues, more voters and organizations are getting involved. Carolina Public Press spoke to several of them.
Brown, a national co-field director for Black Voters Matter, found out that she was on the list through a text from an organization called Democracy NC. Her county board of elections told her they didn’t have her driver’s license on file, but she knows she did everything right.
Black voters like Brown are twice as likely as white voters to be in the largest Griffin challenge. Other voters of color and younger voters also disproportionately appear on his protest lists, according to an analysis conducted by Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper.
“I’m taking it very personally because I do feel as if I am being targeted as a Black woman that works for a Black organization that seeks to empower voting across the country,” Brown said. “You’re making voters feel as if their vote does not count or they have to fight for their vote to count when that’s not democracy.”
Latino voters faced hurdle after hurdle this election, said Veronica Aguilar of El Pueblo, an advocacy group for that community.
The new voter ID law presents more of an obstacle for Latino voters and other voters of color than their white counterparts. Voter education tends to be in English, which may hinder the Latino community from staying updated on election rules. Also, many naturalized immigrants come from countries with different voting laws and election processes which may present a learning curve.
Additionally, Aguilar claims that Latino voters experienced voter intimidation during the election, including a proliferation of “unnecessary” signs telling them that if they aren’t citizens, they can’t vote. U.S. citizenship is required to even register to vote, she said, so this was an effort to make naturalized citizens “question whether or not they could vote.”
The fact that Latino voters disproportionately appear on the protest lists aligns with political rhetoric that immigrants “don’t belong” in the U.S., Aguilar said.
“So even if it is not intentional, it is contributing to the narrative that Latino immigrants, naturalized citizens in this country aren’t allowed to participate in our processes and that their voices don’t count,” she said.
Voters of color aren’t the only ones feeling targeted.
Carrie Conley is a military spouse living in Italy. Last year, she requested her absentee ballot through the Guilford County Board of Elections just like she had done seven times before.
Nobody ever asked for her to attach a photo ID to her absentee ballot because under the State Board’s interpretation, North Carolina law doesn’t require voter identification for military and overseas voters.
Conley heard about the Griffin case on social media, found the list and discovered her name was on it. However, none of her fellow military spouses were on the list. She soon learned that ballots from only four Democratic-leaning counties — Durham, Forsyth, Buncombe and Guilford — were being challenged as part of the photo ID protest.
“Why these four counties? Why now?” Conley asked. “It just makes me very upset that this is happening in my state.”
From 1986 to 2013, Debra Blanton served as Cleveland County’s election director. She loved her job and what it meant to voters to know that their vote would be “sacred,” “safe” and “counted correctly.”
Griffin’s attempt to retroactively take away some North Carolinians’ votes “just really raised the hairs on the back of my neck,” Blanton said.
Blanton is one of 42 former election directors who filed an amicus brief, or “friend of the court” argument, meant to offer courts additional insight.
Election directors, current or former, rarely speak publicly on issues. They make a point of being professionally nonpartisan. But Blanton has never seen anyone try to retroactively remove voters from the rolls like this before.
“It is foreign to me that anybody thinks they could attempt to do that,” she said. “There are rules in place, and the rules in place were in effect for this election.”
By the rules?
What were the rules in place for the 2024 general election?
That’s the question lawyers from Griffin, Riggs and the State Board of Elections’ teams tried to answer Friday for a panel of three N.C. Court of Appeals judges.
Were they rules the State Board established for the election, based on their interpretation of state law and the North Carolina constitution? Or were their interpretations incorrect, deeming those rules invalid?
Griffin lawyer Craig Schaeur argued in favor of the latter. The State Board can’t decide to conduct elections based on rules that violate state law and the North Carolina Constitution, he said.
“To be clear, this case is not about changing laws after the election,” Schaeur said. “It’s a case about enforcing the laws that were already on the books before the election.”
State Board lawyer Nick Brod disagreed. If the State Board’s interpretations were incorrect, there was plenty of opportunity to challenge them before the election, he argued.
The state law allowing so-called “Never Residents” to inherit the residency of their parents in order to vote was passed unanimously in 2011 and has been enforced in over 40 elections since, he explained.
The photo ID exception for overseas and military voters has been in place for five elections, he added. And the voter registration form issue that may have led to missing drivers license and social security numbers on file is currently being litigated in a federal lawsuit to apply to future elections.
“From the voters’ perspective,” Brod said, “they did everything that they were asked to do in order to cast a ballot.”
Judges Fred Gore, Toby Hampson and John Tyson will decide the case. Gore and Tyson are Republicans and Hampson is a Democrat. If the panel spits 2-1, then the case may be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-09-05 09:01:00
State Sen. Bobby Hanig announced his Republican primary candidacy for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, aiming to challenge Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson and incumbent Democrat Rep. Don Davis. Hanig filed with the Federal Elections Commission, while Roberson plans to run. Hanig emphasizes conservative leadership aligned with the America First agenda. The district, covering 22 northeastern counties, was highly competitive in 2024, with Davis narrowly winning. Hanig, an Army veteran and former state representative, chairs key legislative committees and runs two Outer Banks businesses. He supports tax cuts, border control, pro-life policies, and Second Amendment rights, aligning with former President Trump’s agenda.
(The Center Square) – State Sen. Bobby Hanig will enter the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, hoping to defeat Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson and eventually second-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Don Davis.
Rep. Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck
Michael Lewis via NCLeg.gov
Filing with the State Board of Elections is in December. Hanig has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission. Roberson said he would run in April.
“I’m running because northeastern North Carolina deserves true conservative leadership that will fight for our community and the America first agenda,” he said in a release.
The seat was the most competitive between Democrats and Republicans in 2024 and figures to again be so in the 2026 midterms. Davis outlasted Republican Laurie Buckhout 49.52%-47.84%, winning by 6,307 votes of more than 376,000 cast.
Twenty-two counties are touched in the northeastern part of the state.
Hanig, R-Currituck, is a veteran of the Army. He has served the Board of Commissioners in Currituck County, and was in the state House of Representatives for two terms. By trade, he began as “the pool guy” and operates two businesses serving nearly 400 properties across the Outer Banks.
He’s chairman of the State and Local Government Committee, and serves as chairman within the Committee on Appropriations for General Government and Information Technology. He’s vice chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Local Government.
Four other assignments are Agriculture, Energy and Environment; Education/Higher Education; Regulatory Reform; and Transportation.
“I believe in President Trump’s America First Agenda and my record in the Legislature backs it up,” Hanig said. “I’ve cut taxes for North Carolina families, toughened border control in the state, stood up for life, and defended our Second Amendment rights.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article largely reports factual information about the candidates entering the North Carolina 1st Congressional District race, including their backgrounds, election filing status, and statements of political positions. It mainly quotes Sen. Bobby Hanig’s own words and campaign messaging, especially his alignment with “America First” and conservative values. The coverage uses neutral language without editorializing or explicitly endorsing any viewpoint. However, the focus on Hanig’s quoted statements about tax cuts, border control, pro-life stance, and Second Amendment rights, along with an absence of equivalent direct quotes from the Democratic incumbent or the other Republican candidate, subtly frames the narrative from a conservative perspective. This leads to a slight center-right tilt, as the piece highlights Hanig’s positions without presenting counterpoints or Democratic viewpoints in comparable detail. Overall, it functions as informational content about the race rather than overt advocacy, but the emphasis on conservative policy references indicates a modest center-right leaning.
SUMMARY: Laura Leslie, a veteran North Carolina political reporter with 21 years of experience, will become the new editor of NC Newsline on September 29. Leslie, currently WRAL’s capitol bureau chief, led the innovative NCCapitol project covering state politics across multiple platforms. Previously, she was capitol bureau chief at WUNC public radio and authored the award-winning blog “Isaac Hunter’s Tavern.” An Emmy winner recognized nationally, Leslie replaces Rob Schofield, who retired in August. She expressed gratitude to WRAL and enthusiasm for joining NC Newsline, part of the expanding States Newsroom nonprofit network. Leslie’s last day at WRAL is September 5.
North Carolina’s 2025 crop season shows promise with healthy corn, soybeans, cotton, and apples, a major improvement from 2024’s drought and storm damage. However, challenges remain: Tropical Depression Chantal caused flooding, wet conditions hurt tobacco, and relief payments from last year’s disasters are delayed. Farmers face financial stress due to low crop prices, rising input costs, trade tariffs impacting exports, and labor shortages exacerbated by strict immigration policies and higher wages. The USDA relocating operations to Raleigh raises hopes for better local support. Despite struggles, a bountiful harvest is expected, supporting the state’s agricultural resilience and fall agritourism.
by Jane Winik Sartwell, Carolina Public Press September 4, 2025
The news about crops out of North Carolina farms is good this year: the corn is tall, the soybeans leafy, the cotton fluffy and the apples ripe.
Compared to last year’s disastrous summer, when it seemed flooding was the only relief from extreme drought, this summer has left farmers feeling hopeful. In Wayne County, extension agent Daryl Anderson says this is the best corn crop the county has seen in 50 years.
That’s a major turnaround from last year, when dry conditions decimated cornfields from the coast to the mountains.
Still, no year in the fields is free of struggle. Rainy weather, delayed relief payments, market conditions and dramatic federal policy shifts have kept farmers on their toes.
Crops lie ruined in fields in Person County after Tropical Depression Chantal, which passed through the area on July 6, 2025. Provided / Person County Cooperative Extension
It’s been a wet year — at times, too wet. Tropical Depression Chantal flooded fields in Central North Carolina in early July. Unusually wet conditions all summer hurt the tobacco crop across the state.
Plus, state relief money for the tribulations of 2024 is coming slow. The legislature just approved an additional $124 million to address last year’s agricultural disasters, but farmers still haven’t received the money originally allocated to the Ag Disaster Crop Loss Program in March.
For Henderson County extension director Terry Kelley, the money is an urgent matter. In Kelley’s neck of the woods, apple farmers are still recovering from the devastation Helene wrought on their orchards. Finances are starting to spiral out of control for many.
“Our farmers are really anxious to get that money,” Kelley told Carolina Public Press.
Rains and flooding from Tropical Storm Helene create a massive washout in a Mills River tomato field in Henderson County in 2024. Provided / Terry Kelley / Henderson County Extension
“They’ve got bills due from last year. They’ve used their credit up to their limit and beyond. We need that money. It’s been a long summer of waiting.”
Though Helene upped the ante in the West, Kelley’s anxieties are felt across North Carolina. In Bladen County, where many 2024 crops were devastated by Tropical Storm Debbie, extension agent Matthew Strickland says there’s been a dearth of information about how the program works.
“We are not sure when those payments will be issued and exactly how they will be calculated,” Strickland said. “We were told they’d go out mid-summer. There’s been no update. Who knows when they’ll go out? Nobody really knows.”
The financial pressure extends beyond those delayed relief payments. North Carolina farmers find themselves at the whim of unexpected shifts in both the market and federal policies.
Though both quality and yield are high for field crops this year, the price of those crops at market is low. Meanwhile, input costs continue to rise. This makes for an unsettling financial equation for farmers.
Plus, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have made American crops less desirable overseas, according to Strickland. Before recent tariff hikes, lots of North Carolina corn, soybeans and tobacco made its way to China. Now, not as much.
“With the political trade wars, we’re really worried when it comes to our soybeans and tobacco,” Surry County extension agent Ryan Coe told CPP. “A lot of farmers are still waiting to see what’s going to happen. We don’t have a crystal ball.”
The tariffs haven’t been all bad, though. While some crops suffer, others have found opportunities. Kelley says the lack of Mexican tomatoes on the market has created a higher demand for local Henderson County tomatoes, for example.
Labor, too, is giving farmers pause. Many rely on legal migrant workers, but the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies have tightened the market.
“It’s more difficult now to get labor, even with legal workers,” Kelley said. “It’s not available as it once was, and it’s terribly expensive.”
That’s because wages for migrant workers on legal H-2A visas continue to rise. In North Carolina, farmers must now pay migrant workers $16.16 per hour. This number is called an Adverse Effect Wage Rate, and it’s designed to ensure that wages for American workers don’t fall.
A cornfield at Trask Family Farms outside Wilmington on Aug. 29. Jane Winik Sartwell / Carolina Public Press
There’s a chance, however, that going forward, North Carolina farmers may have a bigger say in American agricultural policies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is moving major operations to Raleigh, in an effort to bring the department closer to the nation’s farming hubs. Some North Carolina farmers are excited about it.
“Having the USDA in this area will be good for all farmers in North Carolina,” said Mikayla Berryhill, an extension agent in Person County, where farms were flooded by Chantal’s heavy rains. “We will be able to show them what specific problems we have here in North Carolina and get help with those.”
In the meantime, it looks like it will be a bountiful harvest of crops here in North Carolina. This fall’s agritourism attractions, from corn mazes and county fairs to hay rides and apple markets, should reflect that agricultural resilience.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content presents a balanced and factual overview of agricultural conditions in North Carolina, highlighting both challenges and positive developments without evident partisan framing. It discusses impacts of federal policies, including tariffs and immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, in a straightforward manner without overt criticism or praise. The article focuses on practical issues affecting farmers, such as weather, market conditions, and government relief efforts, maintaining a neutral tone throughout.