By James Beard

What do you think is the most important election this fall? Clearly, I think that most people would say the presidential election, and I would be inclined to agree with them. But after that, what would be the most important election? There are a few obvious answers, but I would contend that the next most important election is one that most people haven’t thought much about. It is the race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Republican Jefferson Griffin for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Riggs is the incumbent and Griffin is the challenger.

(BTW I am not saying that the other races aren’t important.)

To understand why I am saying this about elections, a little recent history would be in order. The state Supreme Court rules on many important issues, but one that stands out in the  struggle for a vibrant democracy is the issue of gerrymandering (the drawing of legislative districts to heavily favor one party or the other). In North Carolina, the legislature draws the maps, and the maps are not subject to veto by the governor.

When in 2021 the legislature produced some heavily gerrymandered maps the state Supreme Court struck them down as unconstitutional and ordered that new maps be drawn. This lasted for all of one election cycle which produced some modest gains for Democrats, particularly in the congressional delegation. However, in 2023 the court reversed itself and gave a green light to the legislature to draw maps with little oversight. These new maps to be used in this fall’s elections are not expected to be friendly to the Democrats.

So, what happened. Why did the court reverse itself? Prior to the end of the year in 2020, the Democrats had a 6 to 1 majority on the state Supreme Court. Then in the 2020 election Democrat Cheri Beasley lost to Republican Paul Newby to be the chief justice of Supreme Court by 412 votes. (Your vote does matter.) When the smoke cleared from this election, the Republicans won all the seats available. This still left the Democrats with a 4 to 3 majority. But the 2022 election did not go well as both Democrat seats up for election went to the Republicans and now the court was 5 to 2 Republican.

How can the Democrats get the court back? It is hard, and we have to play the long game.

Supreme Court Justices serve eight-year terms. Right now, we must hold what we have. Allison Riggs is an incumbent and we must hold her seat. This is only seat up. In 2026, the only seat up is held by the other Democrat, and we must hold that seat. If we can hold until 2028, then Republican seats come up for election (three seats in 2028 and two seats in 2030). At that point it becomes possible to retake the majority but only if we hold the seats we have now. Please, reelect Allison Riggs. It is essential.

James Beard was a resident of Rowan County for 32 years and served as a professor of chemistry at Catawba College for 25 years.