Opinion: Why the NC Supreme Court race might be the most important election for NC’s future

With a groundbreaking presidential ticket and a highly competitive governor’s race, it’s understandable if you haven’t been paying attention to North Carolina’s judicial races. But you really should be. Four statewide judicial races will be on the ballot in November. The judicial candidates who win those races will have the power to control your lives.  

The judges who win will be ruling in cases that can decide your reproductive rights and freedoms, your child’s right to adequate funding in our public schools, your community’s ability to rezone your property, and your voting rights.  

You have the power to decide and elect who you trust to have control over your rights and freedoms. 

Just as the choice for president and governor this fall could not be more starkly different, so is the choice for the contested seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Justice Allison Riggs stands for individual freedoms and constitutional protections, and is a staunch defender of women’s reproductive rights. She has argued cases before the US Supreme Court, has been an advocate for voting rights, and considers every case fairly and evenly.  She believes in a strict judicial code of ethics and will take care to avoid any semblance of a conflict of interest.  

Meanwhile her opponent, Jefferson Griffin, is an ardent supporter of an extreme right-wing judicial philosophy that limits personal freedoms and says we have no right to personal privacy. Griffin initially signed onto an opinion that said life begins at conception, signaling his intent to ignore established law and deny access to abortion and possibly even birth control and fertility treatments like IVF.

In addition to the Supreme Court race, there are also three seats on the NC Court of Appeals on the ballot. Judge Carolyn Thompson, Marion Martin, and Ed Eldred are all incredibly qualified candidates. They believe in the rule of law, that due process and equal protection matter, and that power and money should not sway decisions. They embody honesty, impartiality and fairness.

This fall, it is imperative that you get out and vote not just for a president and a governor who will defend our freedoms, but judicial candidates who are integral to protecting our rights as well. Every vote counts. As you may remember, in 2020 Justice Cheri Beasley lost by a mere 404 votes out of millions cast. 

Your vote will make a difference.  Judicial races matter.