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State elections officials were right to reject Jefferson Griffinâs attempts to throw out tens of thousands of North Carolina votersâ ballots from the 2024 elections, a Wake County judge ruled Friday, just hours after hearing arguments in the closely watched case.

NC elections officials were right to reject GOP challenges to 65,000 ballots, Wake judge rules

A WET AND CHILLY SETUP COMING UP. ALRIGHT, KAT, THANK YOU. >> NOW WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS IN THE LAST 10 MINUTES OF JUDGE RULED THAT 60,000 CHALLENGE VOTES SHOULD STAND IN THE CONTESTED RACE FOR THE STATE SUPREME COURT. THIS IS A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT WRAL'S CAPITOL BUREAU CHIEF LAURA LESLIE LIVE IN DOWNTOWN RALEIGH. >> WITH THIS DECISION AS IT UNFOLDS HERE. LAURA. >> AND YOU KNOW, EARLIER TODAY, JUDGE WILLIAM PITTMAN IN WAKE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT SAID IT IN REAL FROM THE BENCH. HE SAID HE WOULD TRY TO HAVE A DECISION AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. OBVIOUSLY HE MEANT IT COMING OUT JUST MOMENTS BEFORE 5 O'CLOCK TODAY AND HIS DECISION, JUDGE PITTMAN LOOKED AT ALL THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES UNDER WHICH REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE JEFFERSON GRIFFIN WAS CHALLENGING VOTES AND THAT AND THAT STILL CONTESTED JUDICIAL RACE AND HIS CONCLUSION WAS THE COURT CONCLUDES AS A MATTER OF LAW THAT THE BOARD'S DECISION WAS NOT IN VIOLATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT HE IS UPHOLDING THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS DECISION TO DISMISS DIFFERENT JEFFERSON GRIFFIN'S COMPLAINTS AND THAT DID GET RID OF THOSE BALLOTS THAT THE NEXT STEP. IT'S VERY, VERY LIKELY THAT THIS WITH THIS WILL BE APPEALED TO THE STATE COURT OF APPEALS. >> AND WILL PROBABLY GO TO THE STATE SUPREME COURT BEFORE IT'S ALL OVER. WHICH COLLEGE CHELSEA DONOVAN IS OUT IN FRONT OF THAT WAKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE WITH SOME OF THE PERSPECTIVES FROM THE FOLKS WHO LINED UP THIS MORNING. >> YEAH, LAURA, AS YOU SAW THIS MORNING, THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PROTESTERS WAITING INSIDE OUTSIDE THAT COULD NOT GET A SEAT INSIDE. MANY OF RIG SAYS PROTESTERS CALLED GRIFFIN'S CLAIMS BASELESS. AND ABSURD. AND GRIFFIN BASICALLY HIS SUPPORTERS SAID THAT MANY FOLKS HAVE BROKEN THEIR ELECTION LAWS AND FOLKS COULDN'T VERIFY THEIR IDENTITIES. AND OBVIOUSLY IN THE U.S. SEES ME, OBVIOUSLY IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES, YOU NOTICE THAT THE JUROR, THE JUDGE RULED AGAINST HIM. TAKE A LISTEN TO SOME OF THE SIGHTS AND THE SOUNDS THAT WE CAPTURED TODAY OUTSIDE OF THE WAKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE PROTESTERS GATHER IN DROVES OUTSIDE OF THE WAKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE AS 10 FLOORS UP. >> REPUBLICAN JEFFERSON GRIFFIN AND DEMOCRAT ALLISON RIGGS GO HEAD TO HEAD AGAIN IN A NEVER ENDING BATTLE FOR A SUPREME COURT SEAT. I JUST THINK IT'S IT'S PRETTY ABSURD THAN JUST AN ATTACK ON EXIT EARLY VOTED IN DURHAM THEN GOT A LETTER IN THE MAIL FROM THE GOP. WELL, AT FIRST, FRANKLY, I THOUGHT IT WAS A SCAM. GRIFFIN APPEARED TO HAVE LOST HIS 2024 CAMPAIGN TO UNSEAT DEMOCRATIC SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ALLISON RIGGS BY A RAZOR THIN MARGIN OF JUST 734 VOTES ACCORDING TO MULTIPLE RECOUNTS. BUT GRIFFIN SAYS 60,000 VOTERS INCLUDING MAKES SHOULDN'T HAVE VOTED AND OTHERS VIOLATED LAWS. THESE ARE ISSUES THAT WE RAISED PRIOR TO THE ELECTIONS CONCERNS THAT WE HAD WITH THE STATE BOARD GRIFFIN'S LEGAL CHALLENGE WHILE BACKED BY THE GOP IS CRITICIZED BY VOTERS. I SHOWED MY >> VOTER ID. WHAT I WENT TO VOTE AND THAT APPARENTLY MY MISTAKE THIS YEAR WAS USING THE LAWS AFFORDED TO ME TO VOTE EARLY. >> GRIFFIN IS CHALLENGING SOME MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS OVER ALLEGED RULES VIOLATIONS AS WELL AS MANY MORE PEOPLE WHO IS IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IS MISSING FROM THE STATE DATABASE. EVERY VOTE COUNTS. JUST GO AHEAD AND CAN SEE RIGGS ADDRESSED THE CROWD AFTER THE TWO-HOUR HEARING. BUT GRIFFIN DECLINED. >> NO MATTER HOW LONG THIS TAKES, I AM COMMITTED TO UPHOLDING THE RULE OF LAW. >> AND SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT VERY LONG. OBVIOUSLY, JUDGE PITTMAN ISSUING A VERY SPEEDY RULING IN THIS CASE. WE HAVE YET TO HEAR FROM JEFFERSON GRIFFIN. WE KNOW THAT HE PLANS TO APPEAL OUR CAPITOL TEAM HAS DONE EXTENSIVE IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATIVE WORK ON THIS AND YOU CAN FIND AN ENTIRE TIMELINE IN ALL OF THEIR STORIES RIGHT

NC Supreme Court race: Judge rules 60K votes should not be discarded

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