The North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Clayton Henkel)
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Governor-elect Josh Stein sued Republican legislative leaders Monday, seeking to block part of a new law that strips the governor’s office of the power to appoint members of the state elections board.
The suit is their second against Senate Bill 382, a wide-ranging law that shifts executive power away from offices held by Democrats. Cooper and Stein have also sued to block the portion of the law making the NC Highway Patrol an independent department.
SB 382 transfers oversight and appointment power for the State Board of Elections to the state auditor’s office — soon to be held by Dave Boliek, a Republican. The board has confirmed that if that portion of the law takes effect (in May), control of the board could change hands to Republican.
“We have had the same structure for our state board of elections for nearly a century and it has served North Carolina well, with fair and secure elections across our state through every cycle,” Cooper said in a statement. “These blatantly partisan efforts to give control over elections boards to a newly elected Republican will create distrust in our elections process and serve no legitimate purpose.”
“In recent years, these legislative leaders have repeatedly tried and failed to seize control of the State Board of Elections for their own partisan gain,” Stein said. “This latest move insults the voters who rejected their power grab, violates our constitution, and must not stand.”
The offices of House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), who are named in the lawsuit, did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
Republicans have defended the law as making a needed series of tweaks within state government, a move within their purview as the legislature.
Shortly after the bill was unveiled, Karen Brinson Bell — the state board’s executive director — said staff were “not consulted” about a law that also makes major changes to election administration and absentee ballot counting. Brinson Bell said those changes could “make it impossible” for county election boards to properly count votes.
The lawsuit Monday is a continuation of a previous suit filed by Cooper last year, in response to another law that sought to strip appointment power from the governor.
A three-judge panel in Wake County struck down the law, handing a victory to Cooper; Republican leaders appealed the decision in March.
Cooper’s updated complaint in the case comes in the waning days of his term, just as his successor in Stein is about to be sworn into office.
“This blatantly partisan restructuring of the State Board is — once again — unconstitutional,” Cooper and Stein’s lawsuit alleges. “It will undermine confidence in elections, and it contravenes the democratic principles on which our state government rests. It cannot stand.”