RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina trial judges heard arguments Monday from attorneys for Republican legislative leaders who insist their latest method to attempt to wrest control of the State Board of Elections from a Democratic governor is lawful — this time giving the job of appointing members to the GOP state auditor.
But lawyers for Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who sued to stop the changes approved late last year by the General Assembly and begin in earnest next month, contend the alteration suffers constitutional flaws similar to those that caused courts to strike down previous GOP attempts.
''The General Assembly is on a mission to both enact and execute the state's elections,'' Stein attorney Jim Phillips said while urging Superior Court Judges Edwin Wilson, Andrew Womble and Lori Hamilton to strike down the latest law. The judges didn't immediately rule after a 2 1/2-hour hearing but have signaled they would act before the chief change starts May 1.
For nearly a decade, the Republican-dominated legislature has sought to erode or eliminate a governor's authority to appoint the board that administers elections. It's a practice set in state law over a century ago and results in members of the governor's party holding three of the five seats. Appointments are made from options provided by the two major political parties.
Republicans have complained that a governor has too much control over elections in the ninth-largest state, resulting in one-party decision-making and a lack of voter confidence. Democrats say the laws are a GOP power grab designed to give Republicans an unfair advantage in elections in the battleground state. The board's importance has been apparent in the still-unresolved election for a state Supreme Court seat.
Judges have blocked at least four alterations to the board's composition contained in laws approved by GOP lawmakers since 2016 and successfully challenged by Stein's predecessor, fellow Democrat Roy Cooper. In addition, voters rejected a 2018 constitutional amendment that would have forced the governor to appoint members recommended by legislative leaders from both parties.
In March 2024, the same three judges — two registered Republicans and a Democrat — struck down the 2023 version of the law that would have moved board appointment authority from the governor to the General Assembly itself.
The fifth attempt to change the law — the subject of Monday's hearing — moves appointment duties to Republican Dave Boliek, who defeated a Democrat in November to become auditor. The auditor's position has had nothing to do with elections — it's best known for issuing reports uncovering waste and fraud in state government.
