Judge blocks attempt to throw out nearly 500 Davidson County votes

Nearly 500 votes in Davidson County were at risk of being tossed out following a legal challenge led by Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin. But in a sharply worded 68-page ruling issued Monday, federal District Judge Richard Myers blocked that attempt, calling it unconstitutional and a violation of voters’ rights.

“Overseas military and civilian voters followed the rules as they existed at the time of the election,” Myers wrote. “But the retroactive change in voting procedure at issue here deprives them of their fundamental right to have their votes counted.”

The decision ensures that Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs maintains her 734-vote lead over Griffin—a margin confirmed in two recounts—and secures her place on the state’s highest court.

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

Griffin’s lawsuit, which targeted more than 60,000 ballots across the state, centered on three groups of voters. Among them: individuals who had registration data mismatches, military and overseas absentee voters who did not submit photo ID, and people Griffin labeled “never residents”—individuals who had never lived in North Carolina but could vote through their parents’ residency.

In Davidson County, almost 500 ballots were flagged as potentially disqualified under Griffin’s challenge.

Judge Myers, a Trump appointee, found that Griffin’s push to disqualify these votes—especially those cast by military and overseas voters—violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

“Requiring military and overseas absentee voters in one county to undertake additional efforts to have their votes counted, while similar voters in other counties don’t have to make that same effort, is a constitutional violation,” he wrote.

Myers emphasized that retroactively applying a new rule requiring photo ID to absentee voters—when none was in place at the time of voting—was unjust.

“This case concerns whether the federal Constitution permits a state to alter the rules of an election after the fact and apply those changes retroactively to only a select group of voters,” Myers wrote. “To this court, the answer… is ‘no.’”

The ruling also addressed Griffin’s claims about so-called “never residents.” While the state Supreme Court ruled these votes should not count, Myers criticized the process, noting that some voters on Griffin’s list actually lived in North Carolina and weren’t given a fair opportunity to prove it.

“Post-election ballot disqualification for individuals erroneously designated as Never Residents constitutes a substantial burden on the right to vote,” Myers said.

For Davidson County voters and election officials, the ruling offers clarity and finality six months after the November election.

It also arrives just days before the state Board of Elections—now with a new Republican majority following a controversial power shift—meets for the first time. Previously, the governor appointed the majority of the board. But under a new law, Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek made the appointments. Gov. Josh Stein is appealing the change.

Despite the political maneuvering, Myers made clear that constitutional protections remain non-negotiable.

“A state may not redefine its class of eligible voters but offer no process to those who may have been misclassified as ineligible,” he wrote.

Griffin has seven days to appeal the decision.

Want to dig deeper into how this ruling could impact future elections in Davidson County? Let us know.