RALEIGH, N.C. — The Republican contender in the closely watched North Carolina Supreme Court election has officially requested a recount, as the final tally shows him trailing the Democratic incumbent by just under 600 votes. Jefferson Griffin, who serves as a judge on the Court of Appeals, submitted his request ahead of the noon deadline on Tuesday, marking this race as the only one in the state where a recount is expected. In addition to this statewide contest, several local races, including five for the General Assembly, have also triggered recount requests, with ballots set to be re-evaluated using tabulator machines.

The State Board of Elections is slated to convene on November 26 to finalize their counts and confirm the election results. As it stands, Associate Justice Allison Riggs leads Griffin by 625 votes, with most of North Carolina’s 100 counties having completed their reports from last week’s count meetings, except for two small counties.

Griffin held an initial lead of around 10,000 votes on election night, but that margin decreased significantly as county election boards reviewed thousands of provisional and absentee ballots, incorporating valid votes into the totals. A staggering total of over 5.5 million ballots were cast in the contest between Riggs and Griffin.

Should the current leader among the General Assembly races where recounts have been sought maintain her position, Republicans could forfeit their veto-proof majority in January, a power they have controlled for the last two years. So far, the GOP has secured 71 out of the 120 seats in the House, mere steps away from achieving the supermajority needed.

For Republicans to retain a supermajority in the House, they must win a particular district where incumbent Republican Rep. Frank Sossamon is lagging behind Democrat Bryan Cohn by 233 votes, based on over 43,000 ballots cast in the area that includes Granville County and parts of Vance County.

As for the Senate, Republicans have already won the 30 necessary seats to maintain their majority in the 50-member chamber. However, Democratic Governor-elect Josh Stein is poised to have more power to veto Republican legislation if the GOP fails to keep a three-fifths majority in the House.

In North Carolina, candidates trailing the leading vote-getter by less than 1 percentage point have the right to request a recount, a process that could significantly impact the political landscape depending on the outcomes.