A North Carolina appeals court ruled Friday that tens of thousands of voters must verify their eligibility in a North Carolina Supreme Court race or risk having their ballots thrown out, The New York Times reported.
The decision could lead to the results of last year's election being overturned, the Times said.
Judge Jefferson Griffin, a Republican, has been waging legal challenges since he lost to Allison Riggs, a Democrat, in November. Riggs is one of two Democrats on the 7-seat Supreme Court.
Griffin, who sits on the appeals court, argued that 65,000 people who voted early or by mail did not provide their required proof of identity when they registered, meaning their ballots must be discarded unless they can provide legitimate proof of identity, the Times reported.
The appeals court sided with Griffin, ruling even one unlawful vote could disenfranchise lawful voters, the Times said. Their ruling gives voters 15 business days to "cure their defective registrations."
The State of Board of Elections would then "omit from the final count the votes of those voters who fail to timely cure their registration defects," according to the Times.
The panel also ruled that voters who have never lived in the state but are registered to vote there should have their ballots tossed. A 2011 state law previously said those people were allowed to vote in North Carolina.
Riggs won the election by 734 votes while Griffin has refused to concede. Griffin recused himself from the appeals court ruling, the Times reported.
The race between Riggs and Griffin is the last uncertified statewide race in the nation.
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