May 2025

By: Ty McFarland, Director of Communications for NCLCVF, city of Raleigh, NC & 2024 Fellow

Many challenges we face, like climate change, high energy bills, and lack of access to healthcare, require action from our government. While the word “environment” can feel political, North Carolinians across the political spectrum agree on one thing: we all want clean air and clean water for our families, friends, and neighbors.

When North Carolinians participate in our democracy, they consistently choose to protect the health of their communities. Unfortunately, ultra-wealthy polluters often try to influence our elected officials, pressuring them to weaken environmental protections. When leaders cave to this pressure, they pass laws that endanger our health, harm our economy, and threaten our way of life.

We hold our leaders accountable through our votes and our voices – and any attempt to undermine our elections is an attack on our right to protect our own communities. And when we become better community leaders through programs like Boards + Commissions, we participate directly in the decision making process, strengthening our democracy and communities. That’s why we do this work – because when we shape our democracy, we are shaping our future.

Threats to Our Democracy and Freedoms

Across the country, and right here in North Carolina, there’s been a troubling push to control who gets to vote, often by changing technical rules like in-person voting deadlines. These seemingly small changes often have a big impact, especially on historically underrepresented and underserved communities, including communities of color.

Now, we’re seeing an even more extreme version of this effort: a push to change the rules after the election is over.

Following a full count and recount, Jefferson Griffin clearly lost his race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court to Justice Allison Riggs. Instead of accepting the results honorably, he launched an effort to throw out more than 60,000 votes. His argument? That some absentee ballots (mostly from a few heavily Democratic counties) should be disqualified.

Last month, the North Carolina Supreme Court – where the majority are Griffin’s colleagues and belong to the same political party – sided with Griffins. The court ruled that overseas voters must submit photo ID months after the election, even though state law didn’t require ID at the time and offered no way for those voters to comply.

Some Good News

Last week, the North Carolina Court of Appeals stepped in and temporarily blocked the order. That order would have forced the State Board of Elections to begin flagging ballots for rejection or correction—putting tens of thousands of votes at risk. Without the appeals court’s action, even military personnel and families stationed overseas could have had their votes thrown out simply because they couldn’t meet a new, retroactive deadline.

For now, the order is on hold while Justice Riggs and others argue that this post-election rule change violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and due process.

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