Court Case Summary

In December, Republican North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law a bill that limits Gov. –elect Roy Cooper’s power in making appointments by combining the elections board with the State Ethics Commission. The State Ethics Commission oversees ethics laws governing lobbyists, elected officials, and government employees. Under this law, governor successors are only able to appoint 50% of the new board’s members under the requirement that two must be Republicans. Legislative leaders would appoint the other 50% of the new board. Previously, the Governor appointed 60% of the Board of Elections members.
In response to this law, Cooper filed a lawsuit arguing that the change in structure is a violation of the state’s constitution. Judge Donald Stephens of Wake County Superior Court blocked the law from going into effect until the lawsuit is settled, causing conflict within itself.
The article quotes the lawsuit stating, "The General
Stephens countered that argument, stating that he acted to quickly stop a law that may be unconstitutional from quickly being put into effect. The development of this lawsuit and approval of Senate Bill 4 is important because it affects the general public. Cooper’s lawsuit points out that without being able to take action with a simple majority, the board would deadlock and therefore not able to put election laws into effect. The concern of deadlock is because of the bipartisan requirement of 50% republican members and 50% democratic members. Cooper stated, "A tie on a partisan vote would accomplish what many Republicans want: making it harder for North Carolinians to vote. It will result in elections with longer lines, reduced early voting, fewer voting places, little enforcement of campaign finance laws, indecision by officials and mass