Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has just vetoed a sweeping Republican-backed bill — a power grab disguised as a hurricane relief bill — that Republican state lawmakers have tried to fast-track in the waning days of their veto-proof supermajority.
Cooper’s veto, however, does not put an end to state Republicans’ efforts to strip power from newly-elected Democrats, a maneuver that Cooper described as a “sham,” and as playing “politics.” The Republican-controlled legislature holds its supermajority until December 31, and is expected to override Cooper’s veto at some point during this time. The General Assembly returns on December 2.
The measure, known as SB 382, which passed along party lines last week in both the state House and Senate — though three House Republicans did vote “no” — would deliberately weaken the power of the incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson. The bill, which does allocate funds for hurricane relief, also calls for the radical restructuring of core election responsibilities throughout the state.
“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 on Tuesday morning.
The bill would give the newly-elected Republican state auditor authority over the five-member state election board — a responsibility that has historically been under the purview of the governor. This would make North Carolina the only state that gives the auditor power of elections.
“It’s really egregious for a 130-plus page bill that has sweeping consequences across pretty much every branch of government in North Carolina,” Liz Barber, policy director of the North Carolina ACLU previously told TPM. “And it’s undemocratic in substance because it is a huge power grab from the legislature, taking the powers away from duly elected officials.”
If Republicans override Cooper’s veto, the measure would also compress the timeframe for county boards of elections to tabulate provisional ballots, absentee ballots, as well as shorten the amount of time a voter has to cure a ballot, which again, only makes it more difficult for election administrators to fulfill their responsibilities.
“The Governor is spot on in his veto statement,” Democratic State Rep. Pricey Harrison told TPM. “This was never about Hurricane relief but is yet another purely partisan power grab, taking power away from newly elected statewide Democrats and transferring it to the GOP-led legislature while they have the supermajority for the next five weeks.”
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