North Carolina’s election oversight board has been vacant for more than a month, but the N.C. Supreme Court is poised to decide if Gov. Roy Cooper must make appointments to the new board designed by Republicans.
Cooper last week asked the Supreme Court to block the law creating the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement, which would be split equally among Republicans and Democrats – a change from the previous elections board, which was controlled by the governor’s party.
Attorneys for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger called on the court Monday to deny the request, and both the GOP legislative leaders and the N.C. Republican Party say Cooper needs to make appointments immediately….
In the request seeking a block on the new law, Cooper’s attorneys said that if the Supreme Court sides with the governor, he’ll immediately appoint five new members to the old version of the election board. That board would consist of three Democrats and two Republicans. But if the court rejects the request, he’ll appoint members to the new board – four from each political party, selected from a list submitted by the parties.