Court Blocks GOP Bid to Seize Control of North Carolina Elections Board

By Matt Cohen

April 23, 2025
A three-judge panel in a North Carolina court blocked a Republican scheme to gain power over the state’s election board — the agency charged with running elections and enforcing campaign finance laws.

Gov. Josh Stein (D) sued Republican legislative leaders over a power-grab law the GOP passed last year when they had a veto-proof supermajority. The measure removed the governor’s power to appoint members to the state board of elections, instead granting it to the state’s Republican auditor.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections has five board members — with a current makeup of three Democrats to two Republicans. The current system allows the party that holds the governor’s office to appoint all five state board members. But the GOP law would have required all members to be appointed by the state auditor. The law also transferred power to appoint the chairs of all 100 county election boards from the governor to the auditor.

In their 2-1 ruling, the panel of judges determined that SB 382 violated the state’s constitution.

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https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/court-blocks-gop-bid-to-seize-control-of-north-carolina-elections-board/