Cooper sues over renewed GOP effort to strip him of elections board appointments

Senate Bill 749 would create evenly split state and local elections boards. In a lawsuit, Gov. Roy Cooper accused Republicans of being as hungry for power as Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.

Republican House Speaker Tim Moore (top left) and GOP Senate leader Phil Berger (bottom left) are being sued by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper (right) over a new law stripping the governor of his ability to appoint members onto the State Board of Elections.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday filed a lawsuit to block implementation of a new law stripping him of his ability to appoint elections officials and allowing state lawmakers to create evenly split state and county elections boards.

The renewed GOP effort to alter the makeup of the State Board of Election, which presently has a 3-2 Democratic advantage, comes after past defeats in court and a constitutional amendment voters overwhelmingly rejected in 2018.

With a new 5-2 conservative majority on the state Supreme Court this year, GOP lawmakers are hoping for a different outcome.

“Like Gollum reaching for the One Ring, [House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger] are possessed by the power it brings,” Cooper’s lawsuit says. “When it comes to seizing control of the enforcement of the state’s election laws, neither the clear rulings of the Supreme Court, nor the overwhelming vote of the people, will deter them.”

Republicans argue the law is necessary to restore public confidence in elections and require bipartisan consensus in order for serious decisions to be made.