Court Case Summary

In December, Republican North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law a bill that limits Gov. –elect Roy Cooper’s power in making appointments by combining the elections board with the State Ethics Commission. The State Ethics Commission oversees ethics laws governing lobbyists, elected officials, and government employees. Under this law, governor successors are only able to appoint 50% of the new board’s members under the requirement that two must be Republicans. Legislative leaders would appoint the other 50% of the new board. Previously, the Governor appointed 60% of the Board of Elections members.
In response to this law, Cooper filed a lawsuit arguing that the change in structure is a violation of the state’s constitution. Judge Donald Stephens of Wake County Superior Court blocked the law from going into effect until the lawsuit is settled, causing conflict within itself.
The article quotes the lawsuit stating, "The General
Assembly passed a bill that, among other things, radically changes the structure and composition of the executive agency responsible for administrating our state's election laws. Those changes are unconstitutional because they violate the separation of powers provisions enshrined in the North Carolina Constitution by shifting control over that agency away from the governor to the General Assembly." Attorneys representing the lawmakers argued that Stephen did not have authority to block the bill, given that he did not appoint three judges to preside of the challenge.
Stephens countered that argument, stating that he acted to quickly stop a law that may be unconstitutional from quickly being put into effect. The development of this lawsuit and approval of Senate Bill 4 is important because it affects the general public. Cooper’s lawsuit points out that without being able to take action with a simple majority, the board would deadlock and therefore not able to put election laws into effect. The concern of deadlock is because of the bipartisan requirement of 50% republican members and 50% democratic members. Cooper stated, "A tie on a partisan vote would accomplish what many Republicans want: making it harder for North Carolinians to vote. It will result in elections with longer lines, reduced early voting, fewer voting places, little enforcement of campaign finance laws, indecision by officials and mass
confusion." This debate over SB 4 is insightful to state politics because it shows the effects of passing a bill that may be deemed unconstitutional from the many different actors involved or actors it may affect. It is clear that the governor signing a bill is capable of creating debates between legislatures, Supreme Courts, previously appointees, the general public, etc.

Blythe, Anne, and Collin Campbell. "North Carolina Law Stripping New Governor of Power Put on Hold." Governing Magazine: State and Local Government News for America's Leaders. The News Observer, 3 Jan. 2017. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.