Elections board dismisses Republican protests in close North Carolina races

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina's elections board dismissed formal protests Wednesday by several Republican candidates who trailed narrowly in their races last month and had questioned 60,000 ballots cast this fall.

The State Board of Elections voted 3-2 in favor of denying the protests of GOP Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin, who after a recent statewide machine recount trailed Associate Justice Allison Riggs by 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast. No additional recounts had been ordered after a partial hand recount completed Tuesday failed to suggest that Griffin could catch up to Riggs.

Some of those voters in the Triangle found their ballots called into question even after living and voting here for years.

Those voters maintained they did everything right to make their voices heard in the last election.

One of those voters is Spring Dawson-McClure. She was born and raised in North Carolina and has voted in every election since turning 18.

After coming back to North Carolina after grad school, she put down roots and has lived in the same Hillsborough home since 2012.

"I'm a serious voter - primaries, general elections, my kids have gone to vote with me many times over the years," she said.

This election, she voted early in Orange County, showing her license under the new law, and everything was good.

That is until she got a postcard saying her vote was part of a challenge from the Griffin campaign, which was locked in a tight race with Riggs.

"There was no information about what to do to try and protect my vote or what is this that's being challenged," Dawson-McClure said.

The QR code on the postcard linked to an NCGOP website with a list of names including Dawson-McClure's claiming an incomplete voter registration. The party said it may be people who registered a while ago without having to provide certain information that is now required on forms.

But many on the list are scratching their heads.

"Looking at the folks on the list, it just doesn't make sense," says Rani Dasi.

Dasi isn't just a voter -- she was even elected to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board and previously had to have her information vetted to become a candidate for public office.

"There is nothing missing in my file and I obviously showed my ID and it's just baffling why this whole lawsuit has come about and again I just wonder who it benefits and who it serves," Dasi said.

As for Dawson-McClure, she said she hopes it won't discourage people from getting involved, including her son.

"He'll often say to me 'Come on, Mom, one person doesn't make a difference' and it's real important to me that he has a chance to wrestle with this himself and comes out on the side of believing that it does matter," she says.

Despite the board's rejection of the NCGOP's challenge, the case can still go to court.

In a statement, the NCGOP said "Unsurprisingly, the most partisan State Board of Elections in history has once again failed the people of North Carolina. The board's continued efforts to engineer political outcomes for Democrats is shameful. We will review the board's decision and reserve the right to any future actions to protect the integrity of our elections."

If the current results hold up amid these challenges, Riggs will hold her seat on the Supreme Court after 2 recounts.