NC Republicans pass elections overhaul bill, send it to governor. Lawsuit could follow
Republican lawmakers approved legislation Friday that would overhaul state and county boards of elections ahead of the 2024 elections.
House Bill 749 cleared the House late Thursday and the Senate Friday morning on party-line votes.
The bill would replace members on the North Carolina State Board of Elections, as well as all 100 county election boards, stripping the governor's ability to appoint board members who vote on decisions such as where to put early-voting sites, whether to declare someone ineligible to run for office, and whether to start an investigation into allegations of fraud or other malfeasance.
The bill would give that appointment authority to the legislature — a transfer of power from the Democratic governor to the Republican-led legislature. It would also change the boards' partisan makeup, going from 3-2 majorities in favor of whichever party controls the governor's office, to having an evenly split number of Republicans and Democrats.
Republican lawmakers backing the bill say it's only fair to have a bipartisan split. They say it would increase voter confidence in elections. Democrats say Republicans are trying to game the system and force boards to deadlock on hugely consequential issues, such as whether to certify the winner of the 2024 presidential election.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to veto the bill, but the legislature’s Republican majority has the numbers it needs to overturn that veto and make the bill law. If that happens, Democrats would likely turn to the courts seeking to overturn the change. But Republicans control the state Supreme Court — which is chosen in partisan elections — 5-2.
During debate Friday Sen. Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe, said her Republican colleagues only advanced the change because they believe they'll get a different result from the court than they got in 2017, when a similar proposal was struck down as unconstitutional. Mayfield said the bill, combined with other Republican measures shifting power from the governor's office, is a step along the road to authoritarianism.
She said the state has crested the top of a roller coaster and is "hurtling down the other side." A protester in the Senate gallery yelled "this is going to destroy democracy in North Carolina! Vote no!" after the debate and was escorted from the chamber at Senate Republican leader Phil Berger's request.
Republican leaders have repeatedly dismissed this sort of comment as hyperbole and said a bipartisan board of elections just makes sense.
"I think having an evenly divided local board and a state board will help ensure that no party, whether Republicans or Democrats, will have an advantage," Berger said after Friday's vote.
This bill has been bandied about the legislature for months, and the final detail to fall into place was its effective date, which would be Jan. 1.
That would leave time to get the new boards in place ahead of next year's primary elections, House Rules Chairman Destin Hall, a bill sponsor, said Thursday.
