NC Appeals Court Rejects Stein’s Challenge to Loss of Election Boards Appointment Power
An NC Appeals Court panel has rejected Governor Josh Stein’s challenge to legislation which stripped his office of control over the appointment of elections boards, and transferred that power to the Republican State Auditor instead.
Background of the Case
The legislation shifting authority from the Governor to the Auditor was passed in late 2024, just days after Democrat Josh Stein won the governor’s race, while Republican Dave Boliek won the contest for auditor. In contrast to elections boards appointed by Democrats like Roy Cooper and Josh Stein, the boards appointed by Boliek have implemented changes to make voting less accessible and more difficult for many citizens. Examples include the elimination of most polling places on college campuses, dropping Sunday voting in many counties, and making it easier to disqualify mail-in absentee ballots on the basis of minor technical errors.
As has become typical of appellate court decisions in North Carolina, the three-member panel in this case split along party lines. The two Republican judges voted to allow the change in appointment authority, and the one Democratic judge voted to find it unconstitutional. Judge John Arrowood wrote in his dissenting opinion, “Our Constitution charges the governor with the duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. By entirely removing from the governor’s control the administration and appointment power of the State Board and County Boards, SB 382 prevents the exercise of powers expressly reserved to the governor by the constitution.”
In announcing that he would appeal the decision to the NC Supreme Court, Governor Stein said, “No other state in the nation tasks the state auditor with election administration. Republican legislators threw aside more than 100 years of historical practice in a partisan power grab that transferred the governor’s executive power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections to a Republican state auditor… I will appeal today’s divided ruling and continue to protect the independence of our elections so that every North Carolinian who casts a ballot knows their vote will count.”