North Carolina Senate Republicans have advanced a bill that would eliminate Gov. Roy Cooper’s power to appoint members to the majority Democrat state election board.
Senate Bill 749, titled “No Partisan Advantage in Election,” seeks to transfer the administrative authority to appoint members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) to the Department of the Secretary of State.
The bill would give lawmakers, instead of the governor, the power to appoint members to the NCSBE.
Specifically, the legislation assigns the president pro tempore of the Senate, currently Republican Sen. Phil Berger; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, currently Republican Rep. Tim Moore; the minority leader of the Senate, currently Democrat Sen. Dan Blue; and the minority leader, currently Democrat Rep. Robert Reives, initial appointing authority using NCSBE voting registration statistics….