A bipartisan panel of three judges in North Carolina ruled that a Republican-led effort in the state legislature to restructure state and county election boards is unconstitutional.
Their ruling, which contained no dissent, leaves in place the current makeup of the state election board, which has three Democratic members and two Republican members.
Representatives for the Republican-led legislature on Tuesday did not indicate whether they would appeal the decision.
The legislation, passed by the Republican supermajority last year, would have upended the balance of state and county election boards in the state, creating an eight-member state election board with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans appointed to the board by the state legislature. County election boards would be set up for similar stalemates.