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.

A federal appeals panel has heard arguments involving a still-unresolved November election for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat.

Allison Riggs appears to have narrowly won her reelection race. But two of the justices who may decide the case have spouses who donated to her challenger.

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.

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.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Monday about whether federal or state courts should handle the case.

During oral arguments in federal court Monday, lawyers for North Carolina's two candidates in a still-undecided election for state Supreme Court sparred with a trio of federal judges, who peppered them with intense questioning — over the issue of who should have the final say in a lawsuit that could decide the fate of the election.