North Carolina Supreme Court ruling boosts Republican efforts to overturn November election loss

Four of the Republican -majority court's justices concurred, while two dissented.

The North Carolina Supreme Court rejected the state Board of Election's request to bypass the North Carolina Court of Appeals and review Judge Jefferson Griffin's legal effort to toss out tens of thousands of votes cast in the state's November Supreme Court race.

Griffin sued the state Election Board in December , asking the court to force the board to toss more than 65,000 votes he claims are invalid.