Article Summary –
Allison Riggs, a Democrat and voting rights attorney, is running for North Carolina’s Supreme Court after being appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2023. Riggs, previously with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, has significant experience in voting rights cases, including arguments before the US Supreme Court. She aims to counter the court’s current conservative majority. Republicans criticize her as a partisan figure, but supporters argue her background in fighting voter suppression is an asset. Riggs will compete against Republican Jefferson Griffin this November.
Allison Riggs: Democrat for North Carolina’s Supreme Court
Allison Riggs is running for North Carolina’s Supreme Court this November. She’ll be on everyone’s ballot in the state.
We’ve discussed Allison Riggs at Cardinal & Pine before. As an attorney with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Riggs has argued twice before the US Supreme Court in major voting rights cases.
Riggs has been pivotal in North Carolina’s voting rights litigation, actively fighting against gerrymandering and alleged voter suppression.
RELATED: What is the NC Supreme Court and how does it work?
Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Riggs in 2023 to a vacant Supreme Court seat, and she’s now running to retain it.
Riggs is anticipated to offer a progressive counter to the currently conservative-dominated court, where five out of seven members are Republicans. Her role is crucial as the court may decide the future of abortion rights in North Carolina.
Republicans argue against her candidacy, describing her as a party stooge. However, Riggs’ role at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice involved fighting gerrymandering and voter suppression.
Since 2010, Republicans have controlled the North Carolina legislature, frequently defending their gerrymandering and voter suppression bills in court. Remember in 2016 when a federal court found that North Carolina Republicans targeted Black voters “with surgical precision”?
Attorneys like Riggs work to combat such anti-voter bills. In North Carolina, voting rights attorneys are often seen as civil rights heroes, akin to Julius Chambers, Thurgood Marshall, Al McSurely, and Adam Stein.
Supporters of Justice Allison Riggs argue that experience in voting rights or civil rights law is an asset for a seat on the state’s highest court. Riggs will be on the ballot for every North Carolinian this Election Day. For more info on Riggs and her opponent, Republican Jefferson Griffin, check out Cardinal & Pine’s 2024 Voter Hub.
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