Explaining the lawsuit over NC elections board control | Under the Dome podcast
The North Carolina General Assembly is back in session after a weeklong break, with a packed schedule of bills moving through various committees.
While legislators were away last week, a lawsuit resulting from a bill they passed in December was in court.
Happy Tuesday and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter edition about our latest podcast episode that posted this morning.
I’m Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief. I’m joined by my politics team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram. Ingram covered the 2-1 ruling in Wake County Superior Court that agreed with Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s argument challenging a power shift.
Stein’s lawsuit, filed when former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was still in office in December, challenged Senate Bill 382, which became law after Republicans successfully overturned Cooper’s veto. Among other things, the legislation took power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections from the governor and gave it to the state auditor. Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican, had won election in November, replacing a Democrat. Boliek would have had the appointment power starting May 1.
We explain the case itself and what happens now. And speaking of court, Ingram gives the latest status of the contested N.C. Supreme Court race between Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs and Republican judge Jefferson Griffin, who trails Riggs by 734 votes and is challenging the results.
After the break, we talk about what you can expect in committees this week, as well as the recent story from Bajpai and me about Sen. Dan Blue and other Senate Democrats who voted for the Republican-written budget.
Stay tuned to the end for our picks for Headliner of the Week.
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Thanks for reading, and listening. If you are a lawmaker or work in state government, politics or policy and are interested in being a podcast guest or have topic recommendations, email me at dvaughan@newsobserver.com.
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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