Ian McPherson reads names from a list of over 60,000 people who cast ballots in the November election but whose votes have been challenged by Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin in his extremely close race with Demcorat Allison Riggs on January 14, 2025, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Chris Seward/AP

Riggs won the race by a slim, 734 vote margin in November out of more than 5 million votes cast, which is not unprecedented in a North Carolina Supreme Court race. Two recounts — one machine and one partially by hand — confirmed that victory.

In this moment of crisis, the courts have become the final guardrail against the forces of authoritarianism that seek to undermine the will of the voters.

GOP is trying to overturn a closely watched North Carolina Supreme Court election between Allison Riggs (D) and Jefferson Griffin (R).