Conservatives were left disappointed in Wisconsin last week after a Democrat-backed justice was elected to the state's highest judicial body.

The situation is different in North Carolina, however, where a recent decision could lead to the replacement of Democratic Supreme Court Justice with a Republican one. 

Republican candidate contests the validity of nearly 66,000 votes

Last year saw Republican North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin challenge incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs.

As The Carolina Journal noted in February, out of the 5.5 million ballots cast statewide, Riggs ended up with a 734-vote lead over Griffin.

Yet Griffin alleged that approximately 60,000 ballots in question were submitted by individuals whose voter registration records lacked either a driver's license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number.

What's more, the appeals court judge also maintained that 5,500 ballots came from overseas voters who did not present a photo ID while an additional 267 ballots were cast by individuals who had never lived in North Carolina.

Although the State Board of Elections and Wake County Superior Court Judge William Pittman rejected Griffin's arguments, the North Carolina Court of Appeals is more sympathetic.

Judges stress "right to an accurate counting of votes"

According to the North State Journal, a three-judge panel ruled two to one on Friday that the the State Board of Elections and Pittman erred by dismissing Griffin's complaint.

The state Courts of Appeals ruled in favor of Jefferson Griffin in the latest legal decision in the ongoing state Supreme Court race between the Republican challenger and incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs. #ncpolhttps://t.co/QcUxr0uxge

— North State Journal (@nsjnews) April 4, 2025

"Free elections under … the North Carolina Constitution include the right to an accurate counting of votes," Judges John Tyson and Fred Gore wrote in their majority opinion.

"Griffin has a legal right to inquire into this outcome through the statutorily-enacted and postelection procedures available to him," they added.

Voters given 15 days to provide additional information

The pair ordered that the State Board of Elections give those voters who cast a ballot from overseas with a photo ID as well as those whose registration lacked a driver's license or Social Security 15 days to correct the oversight.

What's more, Tyson and Gore further demanded that the votes of those who have never lived in North Carolina be excluded altogether.

The Journal pointed out that the case may be appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court, which currently has a Republican majority.