John,

In late 2024 after the dust had settled from the presidential election, a vicious battle was unfolding in the key swing state of North Carolina that threatened to set a terrible precedent that Trump could exploit for his next Big Lie. 

The stakes were for a seemingly boring but actually life or death contested state Supreme Court seat that Democrat Allison Riggs had won by 734 votes. But the case held wider consequences for elections everywhere.

The Republican candidate, Jefferson Griffin, launched an expensive 6 month legal Hail Mary to try and have over 60,000 votes cast by North Carolina citizens thrown out. And he nearly succeeded. 

If Griffin had prevailed in court, it would have upended a basic principle of election law and democratic fairness: you can’t change the rules of an election after the election has taken place.

In the end, the NC Supreme Court with its 5-2 Republican majority seemed inclined to side with Griffin on some of his arguments — but a federal court decisively blocked it. Griffin conceded shortly after.

We can’t always rely on federal courts to do the right thing. Especially not now, as Trump’s unqualified crony judicial nominees are confirmed to the bench at breakneck speed by the Republican Senate. 

These judicial elections may seem boring but building the state supreme court firewall in key states like North Carolina is of critical national importance.  

And right now, NC Supreme Court Democratic incumbent Justice Anita Earls is up for re-election in November. A new poll shows Earls with a five-point advantage over Republican challenger Sarah Stevens, 40% to 35%. A previous poll had both tied at 43 points each. 

MAGA hopes to unseat her. If they defeat Justice Earls, their majority grows to 6-1. However, if Earls holds the line Democrats will have a pathway to reclaiming the majority in 2028. 

But here’s the real headline: over 20% of likely voters are still undecided. With Trump’s full focus on rigging elections in November, we have to ensure the margin of victory in a race like this is much, much larger than 734 votes. Defend Our Courts is fighting to win this key race to preserve democracy in hotly contested swing states like NC. Can you make a donation of $25, $10, or even just $5 to help us defend Justice Anita Earls and take back the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2028?

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Thank you, 

— Defend Our Courts

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