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As Washington is embroiled in battles over President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees, a different but equally raucous nomination battle boiled this week just 300 miles on US-1 from the nation’s capital.
North Carolina Republicans, seeing their veto-proof supermajority slip away by a single legislative seat in the state House, are trying to overturn Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s disapproval of a bill that would move the ‘governor’s authority over the NC Board of Elections in the State Auditor’s office. .
The Senate overrode the veto but not without an uproar that resulted in the gallery being cleared. The House is poised to try its supplemental override, but the GOP’s plans have hit a snag.
The proposal was part of a bill aimed primarily at Hurricane Helene relief, and was criticized by Democrats as a power grab, in part because the GOP changed the office of executive branch with auditor-elect Dave Boliek, but he didn’t get to see his governor. candidate, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson best Governor-elect Josh Stein.
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US-64 enters North Carolina from Tennessee near Hothouse, as a sign indicates the long drive across the state to the Outer Banks. (Charlie Creutz)
However, Robinson, as president of the Senate, moved to clear the gallery after thunderous protests and chants of “Shame, shame, shame!” boomed over lawmakers preparing to vote to override the veto. Robinson has had to do it twice so far, according to them Carolina Public Press.
As the finally successful vote was about to take place, a woman shouted “(the law) destroys the will of the voter: it’s voter suppression!”
“Restructure the entire state constitution.”
Robinson, without raising his voice, said over his microphone that the woman was “disrupting … the legislative process.”
When an observer in the gallery shouted that the bill lacked any “reasonable relief for hurricane victims,” Robinson slammed his gavel down and shouted, “Clear the gallery.”
“Everybody has to go,” he said, as police calmly ushered the spectators out, threatening those who remained with arrest.
“You can hit that hammer,” one man was heard taunting Robinson as he walked away.
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North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
State Sen. Natasha Marcus, D-Huntersville, was heard on video captured by the Raleigh News-Observer shouting to Robinson that he could not clear the whole gallery, because so many people were respectfully watching the vote, and saying that the capitol is “the house of the people.”
Before vetoing the bill, Cooper told NBC Charlotte that the legislation “really didn’t provide immediate, direct funding to western North Carolina,” despite being labeled as Helene relief. He called it “a massive power grab.”
Jim Stirling, a research associate at the North Carolina-based John Locke Foundation, has taken a deep dive into the controversy, and his group filed an amicus brief with lawmakers in a recent lawsuit related to the matter.
“It’s not the governor’s job to execute all laws. The other executive agencies of the executive branch, or indeed other executive elected officials, are charged with executing the law. Not just the governor,” Stirling said.
“Below (by Cooper) argument, he is effectively saying that all appointments must be under him because he is in charge of executing the law, and has the power to appoint in that.”
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However, overriding the veto could leave some of the lawsuit moot, he said.
The lawsuit “will probably need to be restarted based on the argument that these appointments should be under the governor, not some other executive agency (like the auditor),” he said.
Neither Cooper nor Robinson responded to a request for comment.
By moving election board appointing power to the state auditor’s office, the state board’s activities would remain independent of Boliek and the executive branch, but his office would control its appointments and funding, according to NBC Charlotte .
What would change would be the current Democratic control of the election board, an official told the outlet. The state auditor could also appoint chairmen in the Tarheel State’s 100 counties.
Currently, Cooper – and the future Stein – also appoint the members of the state board, which must consist of three people from the majority party and two people from the minority party.
Attempts to strip appointment powers from the governor’s office have been the subject of lawsuits in recent months and years. The most recent ruling, in Cooper v. Berger, held that an attempt to transfer appointment powers to the legislature illegally infringed on the express power of the executive branch in this regard.
An earlier case, McCrory v. Berger — named after Cooper’s predecessor, Republican Gov. Patrick McCrory — resulted in a state Supreme Court ruling that found some appointments made by lawmakers violate the separation of powers .
In the state House, three Republicans from the western part of the state devastated by Helene voted against the bill, and one, Rep. Mark Pless of Canton, said he had nothing “that would go to send money to the many needs of Western North Carolina.” – it was simply moving money from one account to another.”
Pless, however, said the election board portion of the appointments appears to be “permitted by the Legislature,” according to FOX-8. Overriding the veto in the lower house, therefore, could fall short if the trio do not change their original positions.
