The Fourth Circuit on Friday agreed to fast-track the appeal concerning which court should hear the ballot challenge in the race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, moving the case forward for argument before the first session of the new year.

In a three-page order, the federal appeals court granted a motion filed by incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, who is starting her new term on the North Carolina Supreme Court without the state Board of Elections certifying the results of her race against GOP challenger Judge Jefferson Griffin.

Judge Griffin, a state appellate judge, has contested the results of the election, seeking to invalidate tens of thousands of ballots that he claims were unlawful. His legal challenge has created uncertainty about the outcome of the race, as it has been shifting between the North Carolina Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit.

The Fourth Circuit’s order accelerates the case, replacing its previous schedule, which would have seen briefing completed by mid-March. The court now requires parties to submit their briefs by January 22, with oral arguments scheduled for January 27—a day earlier than originally planned for the court's January term.

The appeals court did not provide an explanation for the expedited timeline.

Judge Griffin's challenge stems from election protests he filed with the state elections board, where he sought to discard ballots he claims were cast unlawfully in North Carolina. After the final tally showed him trailing Justice Riggs by 734 votes, Griffin petitioned the North Carolina Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition to stop the board from certifying the contested ballots.

In December, the board’s Democratic majority rejected Griffin’s protests. He then turned to the Eastern District of North Carolina, where U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II sent the case back to the state Supreme Court, concluding that none of Griffin’s challenges involved federal law.

That ruling is now under appeal in the Fourth Circuit. Meanwhile, the North Carolina Supreme Court has blocked the state elections board from certifying the race results.

Representatives for Justice Riggs, the North Carolina State Board of Elections, and the North Carolina GOP did not immediately comment on the expedited proceedings.

Judge Griffin is represented by a team from Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Dowling PLLC, and Chalmers Adams Backer & Kaufman PLLC. The North Carolina State Board of Elections is represented by attorneys from the North Carolina Department of Justice, while Justice Riggs is represented by Womble Bond Dickinson.

The case is Jefferson Griffin v. NC State Board of Elections, case number 25-1018, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.