Two days before a bill fixing problems with state class sizes was set to become law, Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration on Tuesday filed a legal challenge to a provision of the measure dealing with the state elections board. The request for a temporary restraining order is the latest shot in a long-running war between the Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders over the elections board that even predates his inauguration. In a special December 2016 session, Republican lawmakers created an eight-member State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement that would be evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. The elections board has traditionally had five members, with the majority belonging to the governor’s party.
Cooper challenged the new board in court, arguing that lawmakers overstepped their authority and were preventing him from carrying out his duty to ensure elections laws are properly carried out in North Carolina.
The state Supreme Court agreed with Cooper in January and sent the case back to a panel of three Superior Court judges who initially heard the case for a final order. That order, however, only voided the section of the 2016 law dealing with how members would be appointed to the new board, leaving the rest of the law intact.
Full Article: Battle over state elections board rages on :: WRAL.com.