An incumbent Democrat narrowly won re-election to the state’s highest court. But the Republican-controlled court is considering an unusual protest from her challenger that could flip the result.

A federal appeals court on Friday said it would hear more arguments involving an extremely close election in November for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat where the trailing candidate has argued tens of thousands of ballots cast should not have been counted.

A state Supreme Court justice won a narrow victory in November. Her challenger argues tens of thousands of votes should be thrown out.