Board of Elections Power Grab Ruled Unconstitutional

A three-judge panel on Friday issued decisions about three contested power grabs by the Republicans in the NC General Assembly. Just weeks before Democrat Roy Cooper took office, the GA passed a law changing the composition of the state Board of Elections (and all county boards) that would effectively keep Republicans in charge of elections in even-numbered years; another law taking the power of appointment of executive branch workers away from the new governor; and another law mandating an NC Senate confirmation process for Cooper's top ten department heads.

The three-judge panel threw out the first two laws and in a 2-1 split decision, kept the last one. All of this is likely to be appealed to the NC Supreme Court by one or both sides.