Great Day in the Morning

 

RALEIGH -- Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers, an appointee of Donald Trump, ruled that Jefferson Griffin, a judge on the state Court of Appeals, cannot “change the rules of the game after it had been played.” 

Myers ordered the state Board of Elections not to throw out any votes and to certify the results of the election as they were at the close of the canvass period, with Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs winning by 734 votes.

On the issue of absentee votes from overseas, one group that Jefferson Griffin had targeted because they weren't required to present photographic proof of identity, Judge Myers wrote (annotated by me):

The North Carolina Board of Elections (the "State Board"), on a bipartisan and unanimous basis [including the vote of Republican member "Four" Eggers], exempted those voters from the voter ID law; on April 1, 2024, the State Board, pursuant to its rule-making authority under state law, promulgated a final rule which provided that overseas military and civilian voters were not required to submit a copy of their photo ID with their absentee ballot. An identical temporary administrative rule had already been in effect for eight months before promulgation of the final rule. The final rule was then on the books for over seven months prior to the election, and it went unchallenged. In the months leading up to the election, the State Board also publicized guidance to overseas voters which informed them that they were exempt from the voter ID law. Thousands of overseas voters then, on election day, relied on the State Board's rule and its guidance. In fact, they had to. Overseas voters submit their ballots through an online portal that lacked any mechanism for a voter to attach a copy of their photo ID.

Here's the kicker that Judge Myers highlighted: Griffin challenged only the absentee overseas ballots from a select number of counties -- not all of the 100 -- counties like Wake which are heavily Democratic. Myers pungently points out that the Republicans on both the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court had actually agreed with Griffin's bizarre selective targeting. Both of those courts had ordered that Griffin's hit list of voters must somehow "cure" their votes by proving their identities to the State Board of Elections; otherwise, their votes would be thrown out.

Is he still smirking
this morning?

Judge Myers wrote (and don't you just love the use of effectuation?):

...the court finds that effectuation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court's orders would violate the equal protection and substantive due process rights of overseas military and civilian voters.

Griffin can, and probably will appeal Judge Myers -- given Griffin's history of self-immolation. But how a higher court would turn aside Myers' clear legal logic is a question for your Magic 8 Ball. And how Jefferson Griffin shakes off the devastating memory of his incredible arrogance when he's up for reelection to the NC Court of Appeals in 2028 -- that's a project for all of us. We shall not forget.