Informing Democracy Condemns NC GOP’s Anti-Democracy Election Board Bill Ahead of NC Court Hearing

Tomorrow, Republican lawmakers’ bill to undermine fair elections in North Carolina will face a three-judge panel to resolve a dispute between Governor Cooper and the state legislative leaders over state elections board changes. Ahead of the hearing, Informing Democracy Election Law Counsel Quemars Ahmed shared this statement

“Politics should have no place in determining how elections are run or whose votes are counted.

“These GOP legislators are trying to change the rules to their advantage to maintain power—and the court should see it as the threat to fair elections that it is. We urge the three-judge panel to put an end to the Republican lawmakers’ obvious power grab and reject their attempt to insert themselves into both state and local election administration.”

Additional Background: Senate Bill 749 empowers the legislature, with its Republican supermajority, to appoint members of state and local election boards, stripping the governor and the state board members of their long-standing roles in these processes. It also requires an even number of Republicans and Democrats to serve on each board, increasing the potential for chaos and gridlock in the event of tied decisions that could hold up free and fair elections in the state.