NC House passes bill to give Republicans majority on elections board, strip governor’s power
The North Carolina House passed a bill Tuesday stripping incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of all appointments to the State Board of Elections and giving them to a newly elected Republican official.
Currently, the board’s members are appointed by the governor, who is allowed to appoint a 3-2 majority of their own party. That means Democrats have controlled the board since 2017, when Gov. Roy Cooper took office, and would continue to do so throughout Stein’s term.
However, a provision tucked into a 132-page disaster relief bill would transfer all appointments to the state auditor, a position that was just won by Republican Dave Boliek after 16 years of control by Democrats.
The bill passed the House 63-46 Tuesday evening, just hours after it was made available to the public.
Democrats slammed Republicans for moving the complex bill so quickly and for tying it to hurricane relief efforts.
“This is a transparent power grab pushed through by a supermajority that’s not happy with the recent election results,” Rep. Lindsey Prather, a Buncombe County Democrat, said. “And you’re calling it a disaster relief bill. This is shameful and Western North Carolina isn’t going to stand for it.”
Three Republicans, all of whom represent western parts of the state, voted against the bill.
The State Board of Elections is responsible for approving voting plans, overseeing county election workers and certifying election results.
A spokesperson for the state board confirmed staff had received a draft of the bill, which was first reported by Axios, but said the board was not consulted on it.
If the bill is enacted, Boliek would be able to appoint a majority of board members from his own party starting on May 1.
Boliek did not respond to a request for comment.
Republican Rules Committee Chair Destin Hall, the incoming speaker, told reporters after the House session on Tuesday night that Democrats want to keep power on the elections board because the board matters. He pointed to what he said were problems with voter registration.
“In a perfect world, I’d love to have a Board of Elections that is nonpartisan,” Hall said, “... or at least even numbers of people on each side. The courts have said that we can’t do that, and so we’re looking for a better path, because what we’re doing right now, very clearly, is not working.”
Post-election timeline changes
Other provisions in the bill would significantly shorten the time voters have to fix issues with their provisional ballots, ensuring that their votes are counted.
This process, known as “curing,” led to further votes being counted in this year’s state Supreme Court race, which eventually placed the Democrat, Allison Riggs, ahead of her Republican challenger, even though she had trailed him on Election Night.
Another section would require counties to finish counting all provisional ballots on the third day after Election Day — a process that took nearly two weeks this year.
In a statement, Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the State Board of Elections, said the bill “makes substantial administrative changes that may make it impossible for the county boards of elections to adequately ensure every eligible ballot cast is counted, especially in high turnout elections.”
The proposal comes as Republicans prepare to lose their legislative supermajority in January. By passing the bill now, state lawmakers will have the numbers necessary to override Cooper’s likely veto.
However, the bill would almost certainly be challenged in court.
This is the latest of several attempts by the state’s Republican legislature to wrest control of the election board away from Democrats.
Last year, state lawmakers passed a bill that would have given the board an equal number of Republicans and Democrats appointed by legislative leaders instead of the governor.
A court blocked that change, finding that it infringed upon the governor’s constitutional duties.
Republicans put forward similar changes to the board as a constitutional amendment in 2016, but over 61% of voters rejected it.
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 11:29 AM with the headline "NC House passes bill to give Republicans majority on elections board, strip governor’s power."
