![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXfQ4_ZLOedet2Bxm__LQQi2qpW0LUMMcmR6K0Vx3CMD6ry37gHCXSAfuYBNsG3Z5jkSeLVEY7k-DQxbU4JKY1mVD2Ulj3nJ29jzDCawOWLvo277qYowjg_PcMKdGsiDQgbwLeCFng?key=ivfbwSIllATgkB3zkmwcocdZ\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nQueen City News<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>\u201c\u2018Republicans are doing what they do best: trying to change the facts of the election all together.\u2019 That\u2019s DNC Chair Jaime Harrison accusing North Carolina Republicans of launching an assault against voting rights Monday afternoon. \u2026 \u2018They can\u2019t stand the fact that they were rejected by North Carolina voters fair and square. They\u2019ve become more and more desperate as the weeks have dragged on.\u2019 \u2026 \u2018This playbook is not new to our state, but it is one that Republicans will take and make a national playbook if they\u2019re able to succeed here.\u2019\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what folks are reading: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n News & Observer<\/strong><\/a>: Democrats blast \u2018rock bottom maneuver\u2019 to throw out 60,000 ballots in NC Supreme Court race<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [Kyle Ingram, 1\/13\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Democratic National Committee has stepped into the fray, intervening in one of the legal cases and attempting to draw public attention to what Chair Jaime Harrison on Monday called a \u2018rock bottom maneuver to circumvent the will of North Carolina voters.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn Monday, the DNC held a press call alongside former Gov. Roy Cooper and state party chair Anderson Clayton to denounce Griffin\u2019s efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018A man who is running to sit on a bench to uphold the laws is now actively \u2014 to this day \u2014 trying every trick in the book to defy them,\u2019 Clayton said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n NC Newsline<\/strong><\/a>: Roy Cooper blasts \u2018egregious attack on the right to vote\u2019 in state Supreme Court race<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [Brandon Kingdollar, 1\/13\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn some of his first post-gubernatorial remarks on state politics, Roy Cooper condemned Judge Jefferson Griffin\u2019s ongoing election lawsuit as an \u2018egregious attack on the right to vote\u2019 that threatens to disenfranchise tens of thousands of North Carolinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018For those who don\u2019t follow elections closely, it\u2019s important for you to know that this is just not another step in the recount process,\u2019 Cooper said during a Monday afternoon virtual news conference with Democratic Party officials. \u2018This is a scheme to throw out legal votes en masse by eligible voters who even showed their voter ID to be able to vote.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlso present on the call were outgoing Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison of South Carolina and North Carolina party chair Anderson Clayton. Harrison tied Griffin\u2019s efforts to the Jan. 6 insurrection following Donald Trump\u2019s 2020 election loss, reminding attendees that \u2018democracy is not something guaranteed to us\u2019 and must be fought for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018They just want to win so badly that they will do anything in order to be able to win, and it\u2019s deeply concerning that the North Carolina Supreme Court has stopped the certification of this election,\u2019 Cooper said. \u2018The eyes of the entire country are on this race because the implications of having free and fair elections that are being questioned and potentially overturned are devastating.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe said he expects \u2018copycat lawsuits\u2019 around the country should Griffin\u2019s challenge succeed from other candidates unwilling to concede defeat in their elections. \u2018Voters in North Carolina will be unable to walk out of a voting booth ever again and feel confident that their vote will count.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Whether candidates win or lose, they need to respect the results, because we do live in a democracy,\u2019 Cooper said. \u2018We\u2019ll continue to fight for Justice Riggs because 60,000 North Carolina eligible voters will be silenced if she is not declared the rightful winner in this race.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Queen City News<\/strong><\/a>: DNC leaders calling ongoing NC Supreme Court legal battle \u2018an assault on voting rights\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [Andy Weber, 1\/13\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNational Democratic leaders are calling the ongoing legal challenge in a race for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat, an assault on voting rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDNC Chair Jaime Harrison spoke with reporters Monday afternoon, as North Carolina\u2019s GOP and Republican Jefferson Griffin prepare their arguments for why tens of thousands of ballots should be thrown out. Griffin has lost multiple recounts to incumbent, Democratic Justice Allison Riggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018They can\u2019t stand the fact that they were rejected by North Carolina voters. Fair and square. They become more and more desperate as the weeks have dragged on,\u2019 said Harrison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018This playbook is not new to our state, but it is one that Republicans will take and make a national playbook if they\u2019re able to succeed here,\u2019 said North Carolina Chair Anderson Clayton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n WUNC<\/strong><\/a>: The contested race for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat is drawing national attention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [WUNC Staff, 1\/13\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAddressing reporters on Monday, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison recalled the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018The ability of Americans to vote, our most sacred right, is now, once again, under attack by Republicans,\u2019 Harrison said. \u2018The ground zero of this fight, in early 2025, lies in the great state of North Carolina.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018If they are successful in this scheme,\u2019 warned former Gov. Roy Cooper, referring to Griffin and fellow Republicans, \u2018there will be copycat lawsuits across this country for races where they don’t like the results.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018These are 60,000 North Carolinians that followed the rules,\u2019 North Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton said on Monday’s call with reporters. \u2018They did nothing wrong.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnderson Clayton told reporters that the effort underway by Griffin is bigger than just one judicial race in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018We’re talking about a calculated effort by a sitting judge to throw out votes and reject the results of a fair and free election,\u2019 she added.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n WRAL<\/strong><\/a>: National Democratic Party boss: GOP’s challenge to 60,000 NC voters ‘egregious assault’ on democracy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [Will Doran, 1\/13\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe head of the national Democratic Party, Jaime Harrison, spoke to reporters Monday about what he called an \u2018egregious assault\u2019 on voting rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018The ability of Americans to vote \u2014 our most sacred right \u2014 is now once again under attack by Republicans,\u2019 Harrison said. \u2018The ground-zero of this fight in early 2025 lies in the great state of North Carolina.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHarrison and others said they see what’s happening in North Carolina as a test case: A legal theory that, if it’s successful, could potentially be used to overturn election results anywhere in the U.S. in future elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018If they are successful in this scheme, there will be copycat lawsuits across the country for races where they don\u2019t like the result,\u2019 former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said Monday in the call with Harrison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the ballots are thrown out, Griffin has said in legal filings, he believes will end up winning the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHarrison said Monday that’s because the 60,000 voters the GOP is targeting disproportionately include women and Black people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnderson Clayton, who chairs the state Democratic Party, made that same claim. She also predicted that if Griffin’s strategy succeeds this year, Republicans would try it on a larger scale in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018This time it’s 60,000 ballots,\u2019 she said. \u2018Next time, it’s 100,000 ballots, and then it’s 250,000 ballots, until no votes get counted. What’s the point of voting, if Republicans in North Carolina are allowed to do this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Center Square<\/strong><\/a>: Democrats lash out at Republicans, Griffin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [Alan Wooten, 1\/13\/25] <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCalling it \u2018egregious assaults on voting rights\u2019 and \u2018sinister and shameful,\u2019 Democrats alongside North Carolina\u2019s unsettled election battle lashed out at Republicans and Judge Jefferson Griffin on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCalling Griffin\u2019s protests of about 60,000 votes \u2018baseless,\u2019 Harrison said, \u2018They can\u2019t stand the fact that they were rejected by North Carolina voters fair and square. They want to throw out votes by eligible North Carolina residents.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCooper, his eight years as governor having ended Dec. 31, called the court action against a state panel with majority tied to his appointment power \u2018an egregious attack on the right to vote. They will do anything in order to win.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLess than one-tenth of 1% of 1.8 million had any trouble with the new law on Super Tuesday last year with the litigation challenges six years later finally overcome. Harrison, Cooper and Clayton on Monday all lauded how well Democrats did in November, a rebuke of previous arguments from the former governor and others that the party would be hurt by photo ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cClayton, in answer to one of seven questions allowed, said the courts and other areas are being politicized by the Republican majority Legislature. She called the state a 50-50 makeup, though Saturday\u2019s update continues to show unaffiliated registrations are the largest voting bloc with more than one-third of the state\u2019s more than 7.8 million.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n WUNC<\/strong><\/a>: Fight for state Supreme Court seat part of a wider GOP power grab, Democrats say<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [Rusty Jacobs, 1\/14\/25]<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018And this is just simply another attempt for them to control elections in this state,\u2019 Cooper said on a video call with reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCooper joined Anderson Clayton, chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party and Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, on Monday’s call to criticize the GOP legal battles over the state Supreme Court race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cClayton, the state Democratic Party chairwoman, told reporters yesterday the GOP power grabs cannot be separated from Republican judicial candidate Jefferson Griffin’s attempts to persuade the solidly conservative North Carolina Supreme Court to side with him on his election protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018What we’re talking about today,\u2019 Clayton said, \u2018is bigger than just one race in North Carolina.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018We’re talking about a calculated effort by a sitting judge to throw out votes and reject the results of a fair and free election,\u2019 she added.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n