Photo credit to John McCann at North Carolina Black Alliance
Gino Nuzzolillo, Campaigns Manager, Common Cause North Carolina
The North Carolina Supreme Court is among the most important institutions we rarely discuss. The elected justices on this court make decisions which impact not only our daily lives, but also who wields power in our state.
In my work, I’ve seen the dramatic consequences of the Court’s decisions first-hand. Driving across North Carolina, I’ve held dozens of town halls, community education events, and rallies — not only to educate our neighbors about the latest changes to our voting rights, but to platform their testimony and leadership in response to the actions of institutions like the state Supreme Court.
Those same North Carolinians have had no shortage of critical issues to learn about and respond to. For example, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley used the state Supreme Court’s power to halt evictions. A few years later, under a court led by current Chief Justice Paul Newby, the justices abused their power by legalizing partisan gerrymandering, taking away the right to vote from formerly incarcerated North Carolinians, and reinstate a racially-discriminatory photo voter ID requirement. A few years from now, in 2031, this same court will decide who holds political power in our state for decades to come — when they rule on whether new voting maps are fair and accountable to our communities.
The last few years have taught me that we need, and deserve, a state Supreme Court committed to our civil and human rights. Thousands of North Carolinians have shown up to events we’ve held, stating their opposition to attacks on their freedom to vote, on their queer and trans loved ones, and on their healthcare. They’ve then worked with us to channel that advocacy into letters, emails, phone calls, and more toward politicians like those on our courts. I share their same vision — our organizing is not only about ensuring our well-being in the present, but preserving opportunities and freedom for our descendants seven generations down the line.
Shaping the Court around the needs of our people may be among the most important struggles in North Carolina politics for the next decade. This is why all eyes should be on the ongoing battle for one of the seats on the state Supreme Court, still unresolved over three months after the 2024 election.
Back in November, voters elected Justice Allison Riggs to a seat on the Republican-dominated North Carolina Supreme Court by 734 votes. The vote total was confirmed by multiple recounts and secure election audits. Her opponent, Jefferson Griffin, has sued in a baseless attempt to disenfranchise the votes of over 60,000 Democratic, Republican, and unaffiliated voters from this last election. The goal? To steal an election he lost. As of this writing, his absurd case is still languishing in our state courts.
To advance his campaign, Griffin is disproportionately targeting young people and Black North Carolinians for disenfranchisement. He is relying on the state Supreme Court, which includes justices he considers friends and mentors, to make up arguments allowing him to win.
Griffin’s anti-democratic challenge is only about power — it’s about a politician willing to bend and break the law to maintain his hold on power even when he’s lost. It’s about denying voters their hard-won right to have their voices heard. If this challenge succeeds, it means politicians can override the results of an election when they don’t like the outcome.
How can someone, who so blatantly disrespects the people of North Carolina, be trusted to sit on the state Supreme Court? To defend our civil and human rights, ensure fair representation, safeguard our ability to stay in our homes, defend us from unaccountable corporations, or ensure we breathe air free from pollution?
Over the last few months, organizations like Common Cause North Carolina (where I work) and many other coalition partners have responded aggressively to Griffin’s gambit. Standing in defense of all voters, arguing for their clearly-stated choice to be respected, has been our sole goal. We’ve told the stories of impacted voters, taken out billboards calling out Griffin’s shameful actions in his hometown, and educated tens of thousands of North Carolinians online. Just this past weekend, we organized 16 rallies across the state —from Franklin to Elizabeth City – bringing together thousands of North Carolinians who made strikingly visual their outrage. It was a clear message to Jefferson Griffin and the state Supreme Court that there is a political cost when you try to cancel our votes.
In the coming weeks, we’ll continue to apply pressure, extending our campaign to the offices of elected officials in the state legislature. Despite an uncertain, tumultuous, and terrifying political moment, we’re dragging corrupt and arrogant state politicians into the light and reminding them to whom they are accountable. We know that by organizing together, in the words of the late Reverend Nelson Johnson, victory will be ours.
We need you to take action with us. You can find more information and next steps at ccnc.me/griffin.
