Republican lawmakers in North Carolina voted to strip the state’s new Democratic governor and attorney general of key powers, passing a sweeping bill before the GOP most likely lost its race-proof supermajority. vetoed in the Legislature next year.
The legislation would grant the power to appoint members of the state election board, which oversees the voting process in North Carolina, to the state auditor, a position that will be filled by Republican Dave Boliek after he defeated Democrat outgoing Jessica Holmes in November. 5 election.
That power currently rests with the governor’s office, which will remain in Democratic hands after Attorney General Josh Stein defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Republicans have long sought control of the State Board of Elections, which is historically controlled by the same party as the governor, but courts have defeated their past efforts.
The legislation would also reduce the amount of time voters have to correct voting errors and require counties to count ballots more quickly.
The changes are just one part of a massive 131-page bill that includes funding for hurricane relief and would advance a series of other Republican legislative priorities. The law was drafted behind closed doors and introduced in committee Tuesday morning, replacing a long-rejected bill on dental offices.
Both GOP-controlled chambers passed it in just two days, although three Republicans opposed the measure in the House on Tuesday. After the Senate passed the bill Wednesday, it heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who criticized the measure as a “power grab.”
“State Board staff have not been consulted regarding this important bill that transfers authority from the State Board of Elections and makes substantial administrative changes that could prevent county boards of elections from adequately ensuring “Properly that every eligible ballot is counted, especially in high-turnout elections,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, in a statement.
After Wednesday’s vote, Senate Republican Phil Berger defended the bill, saying it was “completely consistent with the rules that we have,” according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
“We have been expressing concerns for several years about how the Board of Elections is operating under Roy Cooper’s leadership,” Berger said. “And we’ve tried repeatedly to put forward the idea that we need to have a balance on the board that’s responsible for counting votes and making decisions about elections. The Democrats said no, no, no , hell no. So we decided it was time for us to move forward and take action.
The North Carolina Election Board is currently split 3-2 in favor of Democrats.
The legislation also proposes prohibiting the attorney general, an office that Democrats also maintained control of in this month’s elections, from taking legal positions contrary to those of the Legislature. That would prevent the state’s new Attorney General, Jeff Jackson, from refusing to defend laws passed by the Legislature, as Stein did with the state’s new abortion law last year.
The new bill would also strip the governor of some of his power to fill judicial vacancies and create new Superior Court positions appointed by legislative leaders.
Republicans are on track to lose their large majority in the Legislature pending the outcome of a recount in a House race, in which the Democrat currently leads in the Republican-held district. . This means they would be unable to override any future Stein vetoes without Democratic support.
Stein succeeds Cooper, whose administration repeatedly clashed with the Republican-led Legislature in the battleground state.
“Many people and communities are suffering and need our help,” Stein said in a post on X on Tuesday. “But instead of stepping up, Republicans in the General Assembly are seizing power and demanding political retaliation.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
