The lawsuit is proceeding in state and federal court at the same time, a rare occurrence that mirrors the rare nature of the attempt to throw out ballots months after the election ended.

In a pivotal hearing in the North Carolina Supreme Court elections case, the lawyer representing the state Board of Elections faced a barrage of questions from a federal court of appeals judge about the appropriateness of calling back to federal court a case that the state Supreme Court had acted on.

Monday’s arguments will center on whether the case should be decided by state or federal courts — a decision which could be crucial in whether the results of the race are ultimately overturned.

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would not immediately decide on Judge Jefferson Griffin’s request to discard votes cast in his election, sending the case back to Wake County Superior Court.

Asheville resident and challenged voter Elizabeth MacDonald said while trying to evacuate during Hurricane Helene, she spent the night in a hospital parking lot with her infant son. Amid the storm recovery, she still made every effort to cast an early vote in the election, she said.

An analysis by the Voting Rights Lab found that young voters are 3.4 times more likely than those over 65 to have their ballots questioned by NC Supreme Court candidate Judge Jefferson Griffin. In urban counties like Durham,

Republican Jefferson Griffin seeks to throw out tens of thousands of ballots cast in the state Supreme Court race. Find out if you’re on the list.

On Monday, a Federal appeals court heard arguments in North Carolina Judge Jefferson Griffin’s challenge of more than 60,000 votes from the November Election.