North Carolina

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes of two bills adds more uncertainty to already unusual state elections this fall for judges and in races where new political parties want to field candidates. Cooper announced late Friday – less than three hours before a 10-day state constitutional deadline – his decision to block a pair of measures.n One adjusts many judicial election districts in Wake, Mecklenburg, Pender, and New Hanover counties. The other in part prevents the Green and Constitution parties this year from nominating for the November ballot any losing candidate primaries for the same office. The new parties didn’t participate in last month’s primaries and are holding nominating conventions. The Constitution Party of North Carolina was holding its convention Saturday.

State Rep. Beverly Boswell was defeated in a bitter primary just weeks ago, but members of a new party want to make sure that she and other defeated candidates will be able to try again in November if they choose. Those options could close if the legislature includes what’s called a “sore loser” provision in an election law. State law prevents candidates who lose primaries from running for the same office that same year as write-in candidates. The new proposal would extend the prohibition to defeated candidates running as members of the Green Party or Constitution Party. The Green Party won state recognition this year and the Constitution Party is expected to make it. Members of the Constitution Party delivered petitions to the state elections board Wednesday with enough signatures, they said, to earn official recognition as the state’s fifth party. The Constitution Party would join Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Greens.