In a controversial decision, the North Carolina Supreme Court has upheld a law that allows the transfer of power to appoint State Board of Elections members from the Democratic governor to the Republican state auditor. This move has intensified political tensions in the state as it affects the governance of election oversight.
The Republican-majority court chose not to grant a temporary injunction sought by Democratic Governor Josh Stein intended to delay the enforcement of a law passed by the GOP-controlled General Assembly the previous year. The legislation, which delegates authority to appoint board members to Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek, remains in effect as its constitutionality is contested.
In April, a group of trial judges ruled in favor of Governor Stein’s challenge by declaring the law unconstitutional, preventing its enforcement. Nevertheless, just before Boliek was permitted to appoint the Board members, a decision from the intermediate-level state Court of Appeals permitted the implementation of the law while legal proceedings regarding its validity were still ongoing.
Following this development, Stein’s legal team urgently requested Supreme Court intervention to pause the law’s execution, but the justices remained silent until releasing their decision, effectively granting a win to Republican lawmakers who have long aimed to acquire control of the board from Democratic governors.
On May 1, Boliek executed the appointments, converting the board’s composition from a 3-2 Democratic majority to a Republican majority. This marked a significant shift from the long-standing tradition where the governor appointed board members, consisting predominantly of their own party. Consequently, the new board moved promptly by removing Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell from her position.
The court’s recent unsigned ruling, which aligns with the party lines among its five Republican members, justified the Court of Appeals’ decision, noting several viable reasons for permitting the continuation of the law. According to their statement, the trial judges had mishandled prior Supreme Court decisions regarding whether it was constitutional to reallocate powers from the governor to another executive official like the state auditor.
The order elaborated that the Court of Appeals’ decision “was not manifestly unsupported by reason or so arbitrary that it could not have been the result of a reasoned decision.”
Republican Associate Justice Richard Dietz penned an opinion recognizing it was futile for the Supreme Court to intervene at the present stage, especially since changes have already been enacted with the new board and staff appointments in progress. “The status quo has changed,” Dietz noted. “It would create quite a mess to try to unring that bell through our own extraordinary writ.”
Governor Stein retains the option to appeal the fundamental legal matters via the standard appeals process, a procedure that could extend for several months. Meanwhile, the newly appointed board will proceed with its tasks including overseeing campaign finance laws, election rule administration, and preparatory work for the 2026 midterm elections.
In a dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Anita Earls, one of the court’s two Democrats, criticized the Republican majority for its delayed response, accusing them of implicitly siding with the legislative body over the appointments’ issues.
Similarly, Justice Allison Riggs, the other Democrat, argued that the Court of Appeals had not sufficiently explained its April 30 decision. She contended that the Supreme Court majority was effectively creating a rationale for the appellate court’s actions, disrupting a century-old precedent regarding the North Carolina State Board of Elections during ongoing legal disputes.
The Supreme Court’s decision also clears the way for a related stipulation that permits Boliek to select the chairs for the 100 county election boards starting from late June, further cementing the recent changes in electoral oversight.