North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), surrounded by state lawmakers, address reporters ahead of a vote on a first round of Hurricane Helene relief money in October. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina plan to transfer authority over the state’s Board of Elections to the state auditor’s office, a move that will place administration and appointment of its members under GOP purview.
The plan, included in a bill that also funds further aid for Hurricane Helene relief, would further strip power from the governor’s office, which currently has appointment power and will remain in Democratic control under Governor-elect Josh Stein.
[Editor’s note: Other provisions in the 132-page proposal (which was drafted in secret and cannot, as a conference committee report, be amended) would make significant changes to public education, law enforcement, the duties of the attorney general, environmental protection, public utility oversight, and the state judiciary. NC Newsline will provide summaries of proposed law changes in these and other areas as soon as possible.]
The measure also grants Auditor-elect Dave Boliek, a Republican, new jurisdiction after he defeated Auditor Jessica Holmes and flipped control of an office held by Democrats since 2009.
The board’s powers would remain independent of the auditor’s office, according to the bill, but its budgeting and appointments would fall under the direction of the auditor. The auditor’s ability to make appointments would start on May 1, 2025.
Staff at the State Board of Elections were presented with the bill Tuesday morning, spokesperson Pat Gannon said in an email to NC Newsline. He confirmed that if the changes were made law, control of the state board could change hands.
“It would result in a 3-2 Republican split,” Gannon wrote.
A spokesperson for Gov. Roy Cooper’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under current law, the state board’s five members are appointed by the governor. Three members are the same political affiliation as the governor (currently a Democrat), and two are the state’s second-largest party (currently Republicans). The board hires its own executive director.
The plan marks a new step in a partisan fight over control of elections in North Carolina in which Republicans have sought to wrest control from the governor’s office ever since Cooper was elected in 2016.
A law passed last year transferred administrative authority of the state board to the Secretary of State’s office. It also sought to allow the General Assembly (controlled by Republicans) to make appointments to the board.
Cooper sued to block the law, calling it a “blatant violation” of the state constitution’s separation of powers. The suit has been backed by a bipartisan group of North Carolina’s five living governors.
The law has been blocked by a panel of superior court judges. Republican leaders in the legislature have appealed the decision. It’s not yet clear how lawmakers’ new bill, if it becomes law, would impact that litigation.
Another piece of the new plan would also allow the auditor’s office to appoint chairs of the state’s 100 county elections boards.
Lawmakers will reconvene at noon today and are expected to review the legislation in the House Rules Commitee at 12:45. Click here to access the committee’s video stream.
NC Newsline’s Brandon Kingdollar contributed reporting.