Cooper sues top Republicans over election boards overhaul that strips his appointments
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper sued top Republicans on Tuesday, arguing that a massive overhaul to the state’s election boards unconstitutionally removes power from the executive branch.
The bill in question, Senate Bill 749, strips the governor of his power to appoint members to state and local election boards. Those boards are currently structured to have a 3-2 majority of the governor’s party, but will now be evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, with all appointments coming from leaders in the legislature.
“The North Carolina General Assembly takes direct aim at established precedents and once again seeks to significantly interfere with the Governor’s constitutionally assigned executive branch duty of election law enforcement and to take much of that power for itself,” the lawsuit says.
Republicans argue that the bill encourages bipartisan cooperation within election boards and removes the possibility of decisions motivated by partisan politics.
Critics worry the new board structure will lead to gridlock on important decisions.
“The deadlocks that will be created on these new boards of elections at the state and local levels likely will reduce early voting and create longer lines at the polls,” Cooper said in a statement. “It will also undermine fair elections and faith in our democracy by sending disputes to our highly partisan legislature and courts.”
The lawsuit, filed in Wake County, alleges that the new law violates the separation of powers clause found in the state constitution.
Cooper vetoed SB 749, but Republicans used their supermajority to override his veto earlier this month. Most components of the bill become effective on Jan. 1, 2024.
The state Supreme Court rejected a similar restructuring attempt of the State Board of Elections. Following that, Republicans tried to pass similar changes via a constitutional amendment in 2018, but over 60% of voters rejected it.
“Both the courts and the people have rejected this bad idea and the meaning of our Constitution doesn’t change just because the Supreme Court has new justices,” Cooper said. “The Supreme Court should accept the clear precedent and the clear voice of the people and reject the legislature’s latest attempt to control the election process.”
House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Part of a growing list of lawsuits
This is one of several major lawsuits piling up to challenge some of the most controversial legislation passed by Republicans this session.
Cooper has also sued Republicans over another appointments bill, Senate Bill 512, which removes the governor’s ability to appoint members to a variety of boards and commissions.
The Democratic National Committee and the North Carolina Democratic Party are suing the state over a different elections bill, arguing it will lead to voter suppression. Their lawsuit, filed last week, challenges Senate Bill 747, which implements a variety of election procedure changes pushed for by conservative activists.
Two other challenges have been filed in federal court against the same bill by progressive groups.
This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 4:32 PM.
