Judicial Watch: Panel Confirms Injunction Against Dissolving State Elections Board
The legislative scheme to clamp down on voting rights by taking partisan control of the elections process stays on hold for now.
A three-judge panel appointed by the Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court maintained the injunction against key parts of the legislation passed in December to strip powers away from the incoming governor. In particular, the law abolishing the State Board of Elections and creating a new body effectively controlled by legislative Republicans to run state elections will stay blocked until the courts finish weighing the constitutional case against it.
As CIB explained last week, the new board would have been entirely composed of Republican appointees until mid-year. After that, the legislative appointees would have retained power to block any action by the board—and the law provided that in the absence of board action otherwise, early voting would automatically drop to the minimum level. That minimum would be just one early voting site per county, open only for two weeks during weekday business hours and part of one Saturday. In a state where most voters (especially most younger and minority voters) now choose to vote early, that automatic limit would amount to a massive voter suppression plan.
The judicial panel’s continuing a preliminary injunction against the law’s taking effect was a win for Gov. Roy Cooper, whose lawyers filed the case against the law on December 30. Legislative Republican leaders are expected to appeal the ruling.
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