Republicans Violated the State Constitution in Stripping Power From Gov. Stein

 

Dave Boliek.
He wants to run elections in North Carolina

Immediately after last November's election and before newly elected Gov. Josh Stein could be sworn in, the Berger/Moore General Assembly quickly passed Senate Bill 382 which transfers governance of the State Board of Elections to the office of the State Auditor. Surprise! The newly elected State Auditor is one Dave Boliek, a brand new Republican who used to be a Democrat (leastways, on paper) up until 2023. Boliek, who has earned a living as a lawyer, said that Donald J. Trump had "inspired" him to switch teams.

Under S 382, Dave Boliek would run the State Board of Elections, appointing all five members and all the chairs of all the county boards of elections. That promises nothing good for counties like Watauga and Wake and Mecklenburg and Guilford and Cumberland, and is only the latest of a long string of attempts by the GOP to take over the administration and management of elections in North Carolina. It is their North Star, the be-all of absolute power. Every other attempt has failed in the courts; one attempt, a state referendum to change the Constitution, got voted down by the people. Then came S 382.

Long story super-short, the Governor sued, arguing that S 382 violated separation of powers. Yesterday, a three-judge panel of Wake County Superior Court judges ruled 2-1 that S 382 is "facially" unconstitutional. "On its face," they know it's stupid.

The 2-judge majority on the panel included one registered Democrat, one Republican. The lone dissenter is Republican. He evidently thinks the General Assembly's power to jerk the Governor around is virtually unlimited. But because of his dissent, an appeal can go to the Court of Appeals, with its super-majority of Republican judges. The whole thing, we know, will end up at the Supremes, which is where Rumplestiltskin gets gold out of straw. 

Why would I want my voting rights in the hands of people whose first instinct is to squeeze down on ballot-access, to make it as difficult as possible for some sorts of people to vote, to drain the registration pool of unwanted participation? No thanks!