A North Carolina court blocked a law that would remove the governor’s power to appoint state election board members, arguing it was unconstitutional.
Senate Bill 382 was passed in December by the GOP supermajority in both the state House and Senate and enacted into law after a successful veto override. It was billed as relief for Hurricane Helene but included several provisions undermining statewide elected Democrats set to take office in January, including Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC).
The legislation, which was set to go into effect on May 1, would have changed the duties of appointing the state election board from the governor to the state auditor, who is a Republican. The state election board is made up of five members, all appointed by the governor. The governor’s party typically holds a 3-2 majority with the opposite party in the minority.
A Wake County Superior Court panel ruled 2-1, with one Democrat and one Republican in the majority, to block the law, claiming it stripped the governor of a constitutionally granted power. The one dissenting judge, Andrew Womble, a Republican, argued the law was constitutional.
“Senate Bill 382 contravenes the plain text of the Constitution, constitutional history and context, and binding Supreme Court precedent by assigning to the State Auditor the sole power to supervise the administration of our state’s election laws. Senate Bill 382’s changes to those boards are thus unconstitutional and must be permanently enjoined,” the majority decision said.
Stein celebrated the decision in a post on X Wednesday, saying the court declared “the legislature’s power grab unconstitutional.”
“The North Carolina Constitution puts the Governor in charge of executing the law. That’s what the voters elected me to do, so that’s what I’ll do,” Stein said in the post.
Republican leaders in the North Carolina legislature said they would appeal the ruling to the state appeals court.
“The current partisan Democrat-controlled NC State Board of Elections has conducted our state’s elections much like in a banana republic, making up the rules as it goes along while ignoring the clear mandate of the law,” GOP state House Speaker Destin Hall said. “From failing to properly clean up our voter rolls, to determining third party ballot access based on the political winds, to completely bungling simple voter registration requirements, the partisan Democrat board is a national embarrassment.”
“We will appeal and we are confident Senate Bill 382 will ultimately be upheld, resulting in a board that will finally follow the law as it is written and not based on left wing fantasies,” he added.
