Almost 3,000 votes in Forsyth County are being challenged
Last weekend the Forsyth County Board of Elections held a rally and protest in response to the NCGOP's attempt to cancel 60,000 votes.

In response to an attempt by the North Carolina Republican Party (NC GOP) to throw out more than 60,000 ballots, the Forsyth County Democratic Party (FCDP) held a rally last weekend to inform voters of this attack on democracy and voting rights.
Here’s what we know: Republicans are trying to overturn results in the race for a seat on the N.C. Supreme Court, currently held by Justice Allison Riggs.. Election results available on the N.C. Board of Elections website show Riggs, a Democrat, defeated Republican Jefferson Griffin by 734 votes. In a last-ditch effort to unseat Riggs, Griffin is seeking to have 60,000 votes thrown out only in his race, citing voter fraud and clerical errors. Griffin is specifically targeting ballots cast during the early voting period, overseas ballots – including those from military personnel and their families – and ballots from citizens working or studying abroad.
About 2,800 votes are being challenged in Forsyth County. Jenny Marshall, chair of the FCDP, said the list of challenged votes includes people from all walks of life, parents, grandparents, first-time voters, every race, creed, and background. She said the voters spoke loud and clear but the GOP is trying to amend the rules because they didn’t like the outcome. “Elections are decided at the ballot box and not in back room deals, not through lawsuits and certainly not by silencing tens of thousands of voters,” Marshall said during the rally held outside the Forsyth County Government Building.
“Let’s be clear; this isn’t about one election, it’s about whether we believe in the fundamental principle that every vote matters,” she said. “It’s about whether we will let a small group of individuals cherry-pick who gets to participate in our democracy.”
Marsie West noted that Griffin is only challenging votes in Democratic counties and ignoring ballots in Republican counties. She said it’s important that we get the word out about this because if Griffin wins, it could lead to more challenges in the future.
“This is a really important issue to fight because if he wins, this is the blueprint for every other election,” West said. “We have to try to backstop this thing. Continue to tell your friends, put it out there on social media and talk to people. A lot of people don’t know about it, so put it out there.”
Award-winning journalist and Wake Forest professor Phoebe Zerwick said she found out last week that her ballot was being challenged. Zerwick said she had to cast her ballot overseas because she was teaching abroad. Zerwick said she’s voted in every election year in N.C. since 1987 and has been registered at the same precinct here in Forsyth County since 1992.
Zerwick said when she first cast her ballot on the website used for voting outside the country, she was proud to be able to cast her ballot the same way as the men and women of the armed forces, only to find out that her ballot could be thrown out.
Greizy Del Valle Beckles-Araque, who has been a registered voter in Forsyth County since 1996, said she was shocked when she received word that her name was on the list. Beckles-Araque, who is originally from Venezuela, said she couldn’t believe something like this could be happening in the U.S.
“At 11 p.m. when I got the message, I was just like this cannot be happening over here,” Beckles-Araque said.
While the N.C. Democratic Party, the Democratic National Convention, and Riggs’ campaign are fighting this battle in the courtroom, Marshall encouraged those at the rally to put pressure on the courts to uphold the principles of democracy that this country was built on. The case is scheduled to be heard in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Virginia on Monday, Jan. 27, between 3-5 p.m.
“That’s really all we can do is public pressure, public acknowledgement that he is stealing this vote and disenfranchising legitimate voters,” Marshall said. “If you can make it to pack the courthouse, please do. We want to put as much pressure on him every step of the way so he knows that we see what he does and we’re not going to let up.”
To see if your ballot is being challenged, visit TheGriffinList.com.