Justice Allison Riggs is officially staying on the NC Supreme Court. We broke down how much taxpayers and donors paid.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — After months of legal battles and ballot recounts, Justice Allison Riggs has officially secured another term on the North Carolina Supreme Court ending what has become the last race in the entire nation to be certified from the November election.
Her razor-thin win over Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin came down to just hundreds of votes. That margin sparked a wave of legal challenges from Griffin, who asked for a recount and later took his concerns to court to contest thousands of votes.
Viewers wanted to know how much this all cost, so 2 Wants To Know dug into the records.
Let’s start with the recount. That was funded by taxpayers in each county. In Guilford County alone, the recount cost $7,400.
But the legal battles? That’s where it gets murkier.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections says it’s tough to put an exact price tag on the court costs because the Department of Justice attorneys who handled the case don’t log hours like private practice lawyers do. But they did send us this statement:
“While we cannot accurately estimate costs because NC Department of Justice attorneys do not log their hours like some lawyers in private practice, 10–12 attorneys and other staff spent time on the case at the DOJ, which represents the State Board in litigation. Additionally, at the State Board of Elections, the board members, the executive director, three staff attorneys, as well as data, IT, communications, and election administration staff, spent time on this protest.”
Donor Dollars Pour In
Outside the courtroom, the political dollars kept flowing.
Griffin and Riggs both tapped into legal funds. Records show Griffin spent about $15,291 through April 5. But Riggs? She spent more than $683,667 in that same time period—nearly 45 times more. We won’t know how much was spent after April 5 until the next quarter reports are filed.
Riggs’ campaign drew donors from across the country. In fact, people from 41 states donated to her legal fight in the first quarter of this year, with more than $300,000 coming from California alone.
