A federal judge ordered North Carolina officials to certify the result of last year’s state Supreme Court election, dismissing challenges to certain ballots by Republican Jefferson Griffin.

Griffin’s campaign disputed the legality of the registration of the 60,000 voters, saying they did not provide photo identification, in violation of state law, or did not have a driver’s license or Social Security number on file. Judge Richard Myers of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled Monday night that the State Board of Elections should proceed with certifying the November 2024 election based on the latest recount, which showed incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs leading Griffin by 734 votes.

Recommended Stories

• Trump judge questions 24-hour removal notice for Venezuelan deportations
• DOGE access to personal data is legal, DOJ argues
• GOP senators demand communications between Biden White House and DOJ over Trump indictments

“Retroactive invalidation of absentee ballots cast by overseas military and civilian voters violates those voters’ substantive due process rights,” Myers wrote in his Monday ruling. “The cure process violates the equal protection rights of overseas military and civilian voters; and The lack of any notice or opportunity for eligible voters to contest their mistaken designation as Never Residents violates procedural due process and represents an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.”

Myers ruled that the State Board of Elections must not proceed with the process of curing or invalidating any of the disputed ballots under previous state court rulings.

Riggs took a victory lap after the federal district court ruling.

“Today, we won,” Riggs said in a statement Monday. “I’m proud to continue upholding the Constitution and the rule of law as North Carolina’s Supreme Court Justice.”

NORTH CAROLINA APPEALS COURT ALLOWS LAW STRIPPING GOVERNOR OF ELECTIONS BOARD APPOINTMENTS

The decision has been stayed for seven days to allow Griffin to appeal if he elects to do so. The Griffin campaign has not announced its next steps following the decision. An appeal would go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

If the district court’s ruling holds and Riggs is victorious, the state Supreme Court would stay at a 5-2 GOP advantage, while a Griffin victory would increase the Republican advantage to 6-1.