North Carolina Republican lawmakers have voted to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would strip key powers from the state’s next Democratic official.
Along party lines, the Republican-led state House on Wednesday rejected outgoing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s bill, which is ostensibly aimed at hurricane relief but which Democrats, including the governor, would weaken the powers of statewide offices. A vote was passed to override the veto. and the Attorney General.
The Republican-controlled state Senate passed a resolution last week overriding Cooper’s veto, allowing the bill to go into effect despite expected legal challenges. Democrats have accused Republicans of taking the step before the new year, when the party is on track to lose its majority in Congress after the 2024 election.
“Western North Carolina’s small businesses and communities are still waiting for Congress to help them as Republicans prioritize their grip on political power,” Cooper said in a statement. “Embarrassing”
The measure would give the authority to appoint members of North Carolina’s Board of Elections from the governor’s post held by Democrat Josh Stein next year to Republican Dave Boreek, who defeated incumbent Democrat Jessica Holmes. Specifically, he will be transferred to an auditor position. .
Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly have long sought to take control of the board that oversees elections in the battleground state, but their efforts have been blocked by the courts. Democrats currently hold a 3-2 advantage on the board.
The three state House Republicans from western North Carolina who voted against the bill had originally backed a veto override on Wednesday, giving their party a three-fifths majority in the chamber needed to defeat Cooper. was giving support.
One Republican, state Rep. Mark Press, said in an interview before Wednesday’s vote that he was disappointed that the bill didn’t include enough money to help voters rebuild their communities after Hurricane Helen. He said he was doing it.
“I want people to be taken care of in the mountains,” he told NBC News before the vote. “I don’t think it’s going to be as effective as we were told.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R) urged Republicans to override Cooper’s veto in a speech on the Senate floor in Washington on Wednesday afternoon.
“My understanding is that there are provisions there that relate to legitimate disagreements about the scope and role of the executive branch,” Tillis said. “But now is not the time to reconsider whether to send any signal to North Carolinians that help is on the way.”
The 131-page bill would direct $227 million to a hurricane relief fund, while also reducing the amount of time voters have to correct voting errors and requiring counties to count ballots more quickly. It advances other Republican priorities, such as:
The bill would also prohibit state attorneys general from taking legal positions that conflict with the state legislature’s position.
This prevents the incoming Democratic Attorney General, Jeff, from refusing to defend laws passed by the state Legislature, as Stein did last year regarding the state’s abortion laws while in office.
The bill, written behind closed doors and introduced as an alternative to committees that would prohibit committee editing, passed both Republican-controlled chambers in just two days in November.
“Frankly, this bill is not disaster relief, it’s a power grab,” Stein said at a Democratic Governors Association meeting in California over the weekend. “That’s boring and wrong-headed.”
In a statement, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison called the move “wrong, disgusting and emblematic of the Republican Party, which does not seek to improve the lives of North Carolinians at any cost.” “This is a desperate attempt to consolidate power even if it means paying a lot of money.”
Alexandra Marquez contributed.
