GOP lawsuits aim to overturn election results in tight races

Three elections held on Nov. 5, 2024 are still undecided due to Republican candidates refusing to concede and suing to try to change the results.

State House seats in Minnesota and Georgia and a state Supreme Court post in North Carolina are in limbo, leaving constituents without representatives and hindering government functions.

In Minnesota House District 54A, incumbent Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke initially appeared to beat Republican Aaron Paul by 14 votes. An audit by Scott County election officials, however, found that 20 ballots were mistakenly discarded during the early voting process.

Six voters whose ballots were discarded testified under oath that they had supported Tabke. On Jan. 14, a district court judge declared Tabke the winner of the election. His victory would leave the House evenly divided, with a 67-67 partisan split.

But House Republicans still refused to seat Tabke for the current legislative session and have been noncommittal about seating him in the future. As a result, Republicans have been able to claim a one-seat majority in the state House and disregard a previously agreed to power sharing agreement with Democrats.

Paul told KSTP News on Jan. 17 that the missing ballots raise questions about the integrity of the final result and he is considering appealing the matter to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin, who is currently running to lead the DNC, said in a statement that is time for Republicans to accept their loss.

“Defying the courts and the voters to overturn an election would be an outrageous and illegitimate abuse of power,” Martin said.

In Georgia, Democratic Rep. Mack Jackson of House District 128 was seated and has been casting votes, but Republicans are now threatening to oust him and order a new election.

Jackson, an incumbent, defeated Republican challenger Tracy Wheeler by 48 votes. Wheeler filed a lawsuit last month with the Washington County Superior Court alleging there were “serious concerns about the validity of the election.” 

Wheeler’s suit targets six county election boards that she says improperly counted ballots. The suit does not provide specific evidence to support these claims.

A court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 28.

In North Carolina, incumbent Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs defeated Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin by almost 800 votes. Two separate recounts confirmed Riggs’ victory.

Griffin has since filed multiple lawsuits arguing that nearly 60,000 ballots should be thrown out due to incomplete voter registrations. Griffin alleges the registrations lack a drivers license or Social Security number, which is required under the 2002 Help America Vote Act. 

Registrations pre-dating 2002 often lack this data. Some registration forms printed after 2002 also did not require the information.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections was preparing to certify Riggs’ win on Jan. 8 when Republicans on the state Supreme Court halted the proceeding to hear Griffin’s case.

On Jan. 22, the state Supreme Court sent the case back to the Wake County Superior Court. If the court rules Griffin’s favor, he could be declared the winner of the election or an entirely new race could be ordered.

Former Gov. Roy Cooper, who left office earlier this month, warned in a Jan. 13 press call that Griffin’s efforts could inspire other election challenges.

“What happens in states like North Carolina doesn’t just stay in North Carolina,” Cooper said. “We’ll see losing candidates across the country trying to use this strategy.”