Republican lawmakers in North Carolina voted to strip the state’s incoming Democratic governor and attorney general of their key powers. They passed a sweeping bill before the Republican Party is likely to lose their veto-proof supermajority in the Legislature next year.
The legislation would grant authority to grant members of the state election board, which oversees North Carolina’s voting process, to the state auditor, a position that will be held by Republican Dave Boliek after he replaces incumbent Democrat Jessica Holmes. had defeated the November elections. 5 elections.
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 has historically been controlled by the same party as the current governor, but their previous efforts have been thwarted by the courts.
The legislation would also shorten the time voters have to correct ballot errors and require counties to count ballots more quickly.
The changes are just one part of a massive 131-page bill that includes hurricane relief funding and advances a slew of other Republican legislative priorities. The bill was written behind closed doors and introduced in committee Tuesday morning, replacing a long-rejected bill on dental practices.
The legislation passed both GOP-controlled chambers in just two days, although three Republicans opposed the measure in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. After the Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, it now heads to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk.
“The State Board of Elections staff was not consulted on this important piece of legislation that transfers authority from the State Board of Elections and implements substantial administrative changes that could make it impossible for county boards of elections to adequately ensure that every eligible vote is counted, especially in high-turnout elections,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the state Board of Elections.
The bill also proposes to ban the attorney general, an office that Democrats also controlled during this month’s election, from taking legal positions that conflict with those of the state legislature. That would prevent the state’s new attorney general, Jeff Jackson, from defending laws the Legislature has passed, as Stein did last year with the state’s new abortion law.
The new bill also strips the governor of some of his power in filling judicial vacancies and creating new senior judicial positions nominated by legislative leaders.
Republicans are on track to lose their supermajority in the North Carolina Legislature, pending the outcome of a recount in a race for the state House, with the Democratic candidate currently leading in the Republican Party-held district . That means they wouldn’t be able to override any future vetoes from Stein without Democratic support.
Stein succeeds the retiring Cooper, whose administration has repeatedly clashed with the Republican-led legislature in the battleground state.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
