League of Women Voters Asheville - Buncombe County, NC

The N.C. Supreme Court race is currently being challenged by candidate Jefferson Griffin. He is claiming that roughly 60,000 votes cast in the November Supreme Court are invalid because the voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot cannot be verified. Therefore, the votes should not be counted, asserts Griffin. The Republican Party is also claiming that these votes should be challenged and not counted in already completed (and certified) statewide races.

On January 1, 2025, Protect Democracy filed an amicus brief on behalf of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina and six registered North Carolina voters. These six voters – and a number of the League’s members – are among more than 60,000 registered North Carolina voters whom Griffin, who narrowly lost a hard-fought election, is attempting to disenfranchise, asserting that the voters “never provided the statutorily required information to become lawful voter registrants.”

We want to identify as many voters as possible who are on this list to make sure they have an opportunity to contact their county board of elections to verify their voting status, and so that we can advocate on their behalf in this egregious attempt to manipulate the will of N.C. voters.

Please review this list of 60,000 voters sorted by county, or this list (courtesy of Terry Mahaffey). Then fill out this form if you or someone you know is on the list.

Thank you for reviewing the list and helping us defend voters’ rights and continue to ensure the public’s confidence in our state’s elections.

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A Buncombe County resident shared the following letter and gave permission for us to share with others. We will continue to work for all voters to have their vote count.

“Dear Jefferson Griffin Campaign,

I am writing to express my frustration and concern about my vote being included on the list of ballots your campaign is challenging in North Carolina. I am a legal, law-abiding resident of Buncombe County, NC, and have been voting in this state for most of my life.

During early voting in 2020, I re-registered to ensure my voter registration was up to date. This re-registered happened during same-day registration and I provided all the required information to the poll worker so that I could cast my vote. However, after speaking with my local Board of Elections, I learned that a poll worker failed to collect either my driver’s license number or the last four digits of my Social Security number—an oversight that I am told was not my fault.

As a committed voter who followed all necessary procedures, I find it deeply frustrating and disheartening to see my vote, and potentially many others, at risk of being invalidated due to no fault of my own. I fulfilled all the requirements asked of me, and my vote should count.

For transparency, I have CC’d Allison Riggs’ campaign team. I believe every lawful vote should be counted, regardless of the outcome of this race.

I urge your campaign to consider the impact of disenfranchising voters who complied with the process but were let down by administrative errors outside their control. Protecting the integrity of elections also means ensuring every lawful vote is counted.

I hope you will take these concerns seriously as you proceed with your challenge.”

We applaud President Biden’s recognition of full ratification for the ERA. Hundreds of thousands of activists, including the League have been contacting the White House and this is proof our voices have been heard.

But this is not the end. We call upon the archivist to do her job and publish the ERA in the Constitution.

About the League

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, volunteer-based, political organization consisting of women and men passionate about our democracy. Born out of the national women’s suffrage movement in 1920, the League continues to work to serve the needs of the voting public and protect the rights of all voters.

Our efforts are two-fold:
Voters Service, Citizen Education – presenting unbiased, nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process and current issues.

Action, Advocacy – following education on the issue(s), action is taken towards enacting policies in the public interest and striking down policies harmful to society.

A just society is derived from a democracy consisting of an engaged and educated public that has faith in the political process.