The North Carolina House voted on Wednesday to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto on a GOP-backed bill that will strip power from the newly-elected Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson. The vote total was 72-46.
In the waning days of its veto-proof supermajority last month, the Republican-controlled legislature passed a sweeping bill known as SB 382. The legislation allocates some funds to hurricane relief, but more notably explicitly limits the authority of Stein and Jackson. The bill also radically transforms the way that elections are run throughout the entire state, which will make it more difficult for election officials to carry out their responsibilities for upcoming elections.
“This is a most unfortunate vote,” Democratic State Rep. Pricey Harrison told TPM, after voting against the measure. “The Governor’s veto was spot on; the bill did not provide hurricane relief to an area that needs support now. The bill does contain a number of problematic provisions grabbing power from newly elected Democrats that will likely be found to be unconstitutional once the bill is challenged in court.”
Stein described the fast tracked bill as proof that “Republicans in the General Assembly are grabbing power and exacting political retribution.”
“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 similarly said in a statement this month, shortly after he vetoed the bill.
National Democrats condemned the move as well. “The North Carolina Republican Party is desperately trying to cling to power after North Carolinians soundly rejected state Republicans at the ballot box this November, ” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, said in a statement shared with TPM. “Rather than respect the will of voters, state Republicans have put up bogus legislation that cloaks their attempt to overturn democracy and undermines essential hurricane relief.”
The bill contains a number of provisions, but most notably, it gives the newly-elected Republican state auditor Dave Boliek, authority over the five-member state election board. This is a responsibility that is typically given to the governor. There is no other state auditor in the country who holds this power.
The bill also does not allow the attorney general to take positions that are contrary to the general assembly.
In terms of restructuring the way elections are run, the legislation compresses the timeframe for the counting of provisional ballots into a three-day time period, instead of a ten-day window. It also compresses how long voters have to cure ballots, as well as the timeframe administrators have to count absentee ballots.
“State Board staff were not consulted about this significant piece of legislation that transfers authority of the State Board of Elections and 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,” Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections previously said in a statement on the legislation.
Senate Republicans voted to override Cooper’s veto earlier this month in a 30-19 vote.
