{"id":2495,"date":"2025-03-05T11:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T16:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/?post_type=article&p=2495"},"modified":"2025-08-11T16:23:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T20:23:06","slug":"thousands-rally-with-common-cause-nc-against-efforts-to-toss-votes-in-north-carolina","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/articles\/thousands-rally-with-common-cause-nc-against-efforts-to-toss-votes-in-north-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"The People vs. Griffin: Thousands Rally With Common Cause NC Against Losing GOP Candidate\u2019s Efforts to Toss Votes in North Carolina"},"template":"","class_list":["post-2495","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-blog-post"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Gino Nuzzolillo","featured_image":26994,"article_type":162,"authors":"","related_issues":[100,417],"related_work":false,"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Over the last month, Common Cause North Carolina and a diverse coalition of advocacy groups have led thousands in protests against failed GOP state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin\u2019s attempt to throw out tens of thousands of votes and overturn his election loss.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nDubbed \u201cThe People vs. Griffin,\u201d the rallies pressured leaders to take a stand against voter suppression \u2013 and it worked.<\/b>\r\n\r\nAfter losing the 2024 race for a state Supreme Court seat, Jefferson Griffin, who sits on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, launched a baseless legal challenge to <\/span>over 60,000 votes<\/span><\/a>.Despite multiple recounts confirming Griffin\u2019s loss to incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs by 734 votes, his lawsuit has kept the race in limbo for three months, making it the only unresolved statewide contest in the country.<\/span>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_image":{"image":26946,"width":"medium"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"After losing the 2024 race for a state Supreme Court seat, Jefferson Griffin, who sits on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, launched a baseless legal challenge to <\/span>over 60,000 votes<\/span><\/a>.Despite multiple recounts confirming Griffin\u2019s loss to incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs by 734 votes, his lawsuit has kept the race in limbo for three months, making it the only unresolved statewide contest in the country.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn response, Common Cause North Carolina launched \u201cThe People v. Griffin\u201d effort to assist impacted voters, educate the public and drive thousands to take action statewide, including hosting 19 rallies over the course of a week to call for Griffin to concede.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nDays after \u201cThe People vs. Griffin\u201d rallies, North Carolina\u2019s top Republican, Senate Leader Phil Berger, <\/span>publicly rejected<\/span><\/a> the bulk of Griffin\u2019s legal challenges. Other prominent Republicans, including former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot and former Governor Pat McCrory, also spoke out. <\/span>Even conservative state Supreme Court Justice Richard Dietz <\/b>called<\/b><\/a> Griffin\u2019s lawsuit \u201calmost certainly meritless.\u201d<\/b>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_image":{"image":26949,"width":"medium"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"At the rallies, voters directly impacted by Griffin\u2019s effort to throw out votes made their voices heard.<\/span>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_pull_quote","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_pull_quote":{"quote":"\"He challenged my vote, and that means a lot to me. The march to the polls that we did, the work that we did\u2026 didn\u2019t matter this year. Why is that? We speak for the people. We are the voice of the people.\u201d","attribution":"Kinyon McClain, Common Cause NC Alumni Fellow"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_pull_quote","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_pull_quote":{"quote":"\u201cIf we let this happen here, every corrupt politician will try to do it when they lose.\"","attribution":"Jenna Marrocco, a Wake County voter who was also unjustly challenged by Griffin "}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Across party lines, voters are frustrated with Griffin\u2019s efforts to silence their voices.\u00a0<\/span>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_pull_quote","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_pull_quote":{"quote":"\u201cRepublican, Democrat, or unaffiliated, they are all saying the same thing: \u2018I don\u2019t care who you are, no politician has the right to steal an election from the voters.'\"","attribution":"Jenn Frye, co-director of the Carolina Federation"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Included in the tens of thousands of votes that Griffin is challenging are those votes of over 5,500 thousands of active-duty military personnel serving abroad and other overseas voters. <\/span>Former military leaders fired back, <\/b>emphasizing<\/b><\/a> that service members have a \u201cconstitutionally-protected right to vote.\u201d<\/b>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_image":{"image":26995,"width":"medium"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"In addition to mass rallies, Common Cause North Carolina has also placed digital ads and even massive billboards across the state where they\u2019ve hosted smaller media events with impacted voters highlighting Griffin\u2019s attacks on military services members, students, and other North Carolina.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs Griffin\u2019s scheme makes its way through the courts, Common Cause North Carolina will continue\u00a0 mobilizing voters to make it clear that North Carolinians will stand up for democracy.\u00a0<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cThe fact that over 5,500 outraged and energized people came to these rallies not only shows just how many voters could be harmed by Griffin\u2019s challenges but also that North Carolinians won\u2019t be silent when a failed candidate threatens the votes of our families, friends, and neighbors,\u201d said Gino Nuzzolillo, Campaigns Manager with Common Cause North Carolina. \u201cThe court of public opinion is clear: it\u2019s time for this sore loser to end his outrageous attack on voters, respect the outcome of our elections, and move on.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nCommon Cause NC and its partners, including the ACLU of North Carolina, NC NAACP, League of Women Voters North Carolina, and more, aren\u2019t backing down. More actions are planned in the coming weeks to keep up the pressure. For a list of events, visit <\/span>ccnc.me\/griffin<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_video","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_video":{"video":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8yZat3aIipg","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_related_articles","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_related_articles":{"heading":"Updates","button_text":"See all Related Articles","manually_curate":false,"articles":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nThe People vs. Griffin: Thousands Rally With Common Cause NC Against Losing GOP Candidate\u2019s Efforts to Toss Votes in North Carolina - Common Cause North Carolina<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the last month, Common Cause North Carolina and a diverse coalition of advocacy groups have led thousands in protests against failed GOP state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin\u2019s attempt to throw out tens of thousands of votes and overturn his election loss.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/articles\/thousands-rally-with-common-cause-nc-against-efforts-to-toss-votes-in-north-carolina\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The People vs. Griffin: Thousands Rally With Common Cause NC Against Losing GOP Candidate\u2019s Efforts to Toss Votes in North Carolina\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the last month, Common Cause North Carolina and a diverse coalition of advocacy groups have led thousands in protests against failed GOP state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin\u2019s attempt to throw out tens of thousands of votes and overturn his election loss.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/articles\/thousands-rally-with-common-cause-nc-against-efforts-to-toss-votes-in-north-carolina\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause North Carolina\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-11T20:23:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/articles\/thousands-rally-with-common-cause-nc-against-efforts-to-toss-votes-in-north-carolina\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/north-carolina\/articles\/thousands-rally-with-common-cause-nc-against-efforts-to-toss-votes-in-north-carolina\/\",\"name\":\"The People vs. Griffin: Thousands Rally With Common Cause NC Against Losing GOP Candidate\u2019s Efforts to Toss Votes in North Carolina - 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