The State Board of Elections reviewed Griffin’s protest in December but dismissed it due to insufficient evidence of any violation of election law.

Just hours after a hearing on Judge Jefferson Griffin’s challenge to more than 65,000 ballots in the state Supreme Court election, a state judge upheld the state election board’s rejection of those claims in a late Friday ruling.

However, Griffin can still appeal to the North Carolina Supreme Court in an emergency request. Democratic Justice Allison Riggs says her opponent’s challenge of more than 60,000 votes is baseless. Many Eastern Carolinians, including those whose votes are being challenged, like Dawn Baldwin Gibson, are frustrated.