A Judge Has Just Halted North Carolina Republicans’ Elections Board Law From Going Into Effect

Democratic Governor-Elect Roy Cooper Filed Lawsuit, Says Law Is Unconstitutional

A North Carolina judge has just temporarily blocked a Republican-backed elections board law from going into effect. Ever since Democrat Roy Cooper was declared the winner of the governor’s race, instead of GOP Gov. Pat McCrory, Tar Heel State Republican lawmakers have tried to diminish Cooper’s power and restrict his ability to govern. 

Cooper, currently the state attorney general, has called the new law unconstitutional, the News & Observer reports. If it is ruled unconstitutional, it would become one of several laws, especially voting rights laws, North Carolina Republicans have passed that have been struck down in violation of the constitution.

The law merges the State Elections Board into the state’s ethics board. Republicans just named the former attorney for the North Carolina GOP as the head of the state ethics board. The law would also reduce the number of appointees Cooper, who takes office the moment the New Year begins, is allowed to make to the newly-formed board, and requires two of the four appointees he names to be Republicans. The law also rotates the chair of the board every year, with a Republican to chair the board during even years – which, conveniently, are election years. 

Cooer has sued for a number of reasons, as detailed by the News & Observer, including what appear to be intentionally restrictive requirements of how the board operates. Because a super majority is required for it to make decisions, it effectively could be eternally deadlocked, which would mean decisions on, for example, early voting, would default to a bare minimum number of days.

“The General Assembly passed a bill that, among other things, radically changes the structure and composition of the executive agency responsible for administrating our state’s election laws,” Cooper’s lawsuit reads. “Those changes are unconstitutional because they violate the separation of powers provisions enshrined in the North Carolina Constitution by shifting control over that agency away from the governor to the General Assembly.”

The judge will hold a hearing on the new law next week.