North Carolina’s Political Power Struggle Continues — At Voters’ Expense
On Wednesday, North Carolina GOP House legislators overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) veto of a hurricane relief bill that opponents say will undermine the authority of newly-elected Democrats. Senate Bill 382 will take the power to appoint election board members away from the governor — which will soon be Josh Stein (D) — and hand it to the state’s Republican auditor general.
The legislation will also limit the attorney general’s ability to bring lawsuits against the Legislature and shorten the curing period for absentee ballots.
Original story, Dec. 9
After the general election, North Carolina’s government finds itself in a partisan power struggle that may not bode well for the future of voting rights in the battleground state.
The conflict stems from a legislative proposal that would make sweeping changes to statewide offices, including taking authority over the state election board away from the governor — a Democrat — and giving it to the state auditor, an office that will soon be held by a Republican. Currently, the governor appoints members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), which oversees the electoral process in the state’s 100 counties.
The bill would also prevent the attorney general from bringing or joining a lawsuit that’s contrary to the position of the General Assembly. Another provision would shorten the deadline for when a voter can fix a mistake on an absentee ballot from a week to roughly two-and-a-half days.
Pro-voting advocates slammed the legislation as an anti-democratic power grab. “Instead of lashing out at North Carolina voters, lawmakers should focus on doing their jobs and get to work serving the public,” Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, said in a statement. “The people of North Carolina have had enough of these ridiculous partisan political games.”
The proposal cleared the Legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper (D) who called it a “sham.” The Senate overrode his veto and sent it back to the House. Experts say this is business as usual for the Tar Heel State.
“If Republicans had won these offices would the Legislature have pursued similar tactics?” Michael Bitzer, who teaches politics and history at Catawba College, told Democracy Docket. “I don’t think they would have. But this is the level of the partisan divide that is reflective in this state.”
“Welcome to North Carolina.”
Republican-backed proposal would limit power of the executive branch
The proposal comes on the heels of a general election that seemed to further reinforce North Carolina’s divided government in a heavily gerrymandered state. While Republicans maintained their veto-proof majority in the Senate — which allowed them to overcome Cooper’s opposition — they lost their supermajority in the House, impeding Republicans’ ability to thwart Democratic opposition.
In this recent election, Democrats held onto prominent statewide roles in the executive branch. Outgoing Gov. Cooper will be succeeded by soon-to-be-former Attorney General Josh Stein (D) and Democrat Rachel Hunt will be his lieutenant governor. Rep. Jeff Jackson (D), who launched a bid for attorney general after he was gerrymandered out of his district, will replace Stein.
Incumbent Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (D) won reelection, while Republican candidates beat out Democrats for other statewide roles, including treasurer and auditor.
On the state’s highest court, which plays a key role in shaping North Carolina policy, incumbent Justice Allison Riggs (D) fended off GOP challenger Jefferson Griffin in a close race that lasted long after Election Day. A hand count of selective precincts is underway, but Riggs declared victory after the results of a machine recount confirmed her lead over Griffin. With Riggs keeping her seat, the state Supreme Court stands at a 5-2 conservative majority.
Perhaps in a different political climate, a government split so starkly between Republicans and Democrats might elicit widespread calls for bipartisanship and compromise. But weeks after Nov. 5, Republicans moved to bolster their power by stripping authority from statewide officials — specifically Democrats.
“[This legislation] limits the power of the attorney general, limits the power of the lieutenant governor, limits the power of the governor,” Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper told Democracy Docket. “It increases the power of the state auditor, and it gives a little bit more power to the General Assembly. And the one unifying thread through all of those is the power.”
One Republican North Carolina lawmaker described the bill as a “restructuring to the executive branch of the government,” the News-Observer reported.
It’s not the first time Republicans have attempted this — and it’s not just Republicans who’ve tried to expand their power after a successful election. In 2023, Cooper sued legislative leaders over a previous attempt to take NCSBE appointment power away from the governor. Cooper first tried to veto the bill but was overridden by a then-Republican supermajority in both chambers. A state court sided with Cooper and declared the law unconstitutional, but the case remains active, and the law remains blocked, after Republicans appealed.
Last year’s episode underscores the sweeping authority of North Carolina’s General Assembly. “The thing we have to remember is North Carolina is generally considered a legislative supremacy state,” Bitzer said, “meaning that the legislature dominates state government. So what the legislature decides, basically becomes the law of North Carolina.”
It also shows how the courts often have the final say. In 2018, after the Legislature overrode Cooper’s veto and passed Senate Bill 824, a voter ID law, a group of voters sued Republican legislative leaders and alleged the law was racially discriminatory. The law requires that people voting in-person or via absentee present an approved form of photo ID.
In 2022, the then majority-Democratic state Supreme Court blocked the law. But once the court became majority-Republican after the midterms later that year, the justices reheard the case and overturned the decision in April of 2023.
North Carolina voters protest legislative ‘power grab’
So, where does this leave voters? “North Carolina voters have quite consistently chosen divided governments,” Common Cause North Carolina Policy Director Ann Webb told Democracy Docket, noting that gerrymandering is arguably a factor. “They have chosen Democratic governors and a Republican legislative majority. And in recent years what we’ve seen is the legislature trying to undermine that choice by taking power away from the executive branch and giving it to themselves.”
According to local media, some North Carolinians protested the Senate’s vote to override Cooper’s veto. One protestor told NC Newsline that the proposal “kills our democracy. This is ridiculous. This is fascism.”
“[It’s] absolutely at odds with what the voters are choosing,” Webb said. “And it’s also at odds with our state constitution.”
If the House, which is reportedly expected to convene this month, also overrides Cooper’s veto, there could potentially be a legal challenge against the law. “I would be shocked if there weren’t attempts to push back on this power grab,” Webb said. But will the courts weigh in this time?
“Will this rise up to the North Carolina State Supreme Court, and will they view this as inherently a political question that is best resolved by the political branches and, therefore, remove the courts from making these decisions? Bitzer said. “Or is there a separation-of-powers dynamic at play that [raises] constitutional concerns? I think we’ll just have to wait and see.”