North Carolina Senate Republicans on Monday voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s recent veto of a Republican-passed bill designed to strip away power from the newly-elected Democratic governor and attorney general. The override vote passed 30-19.
Republican lawmakers have been trying to fast track SB 382 while they still hold a veto-proof supermajority until the end of the month. Cooper and other Democrats in the state have roundly condemned the legislation, which was disguised as a hurricane relief bill. Cooper described the 11th hour power grab as a “sham” and as Republicans in the state blatantly “playing politics.”
Not only will the legislation strip power from newly-elected Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and incoming Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson, it also will drastically transform core election responsibilities throughout the state, and make election administration more difficult. The measure, if implemented, will shorten the timeframe for county boards of elections to tabulate provisional ballots and absentee ballots, as well as compress the timeframe for curing ballots, to name just a few of the changes it will impose on election administration.
Most notably, the bill also gives the newly-elected Republican state auditor control over the state’s five-person election board. This is a role historically held by the governor.
“This legislation was titled disaster relief but instead violates the constitution by taking appointments from the next Governor for the Board of Elections, Utilities Commission and Commander of the NC Highway Patrol, letting political parties choose appellate judges and interfering with the Attorney General’s ability to advocate for lower electric bills for consumers,” Cooper said in a statement last week, after he vetoed the measure, as expected.
The House’s override vote will take place later this month. If the House votes to override Cooper’s veto, the bill will become effective immediately. It’s worth noting, however, that three House Republicans did vote “no” on SB 382 when it passed the state House earlier this month.
“The only hope is that they don’t have the votes in the House to override. Three Republican representatives from western NC voted against the bill — they can’t override without their votes. If they do override, then it becomes law and we will see what, if any, challenges arise in the courts,” Liz Barber, policy director of the North Carolina ACLU, told TPM.
