In this moment of crisis, the courts have become the final guardrail against the forces of authoritarianism that seek to undermine the will of the voters.

The North Carolina Supreme Court has dismissed a request by the trailing candidate in an close race for a seat on the court to rule now on whether well over 60,000 ballots should be removed from the tally.

Ian McPherson reads names from a list of over 60,000 people who cast ballots in the November election but whose votes have been challenged by Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin in his extremely close race with Demcorat Allison Riggs on January 14, 2025, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Chris Seward/AP