Republicans in North Carolina voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper (D) veto of election related measures which he criticized as a “threat to our democracy,” according to the Washington Post.
The measure proposed by Republicans would reduce the time to return mail-in ballots, empower partisan poll watchers and change the make up of state and county election boards.
State and county election boards will no longer be controlled by the party of the governor, instead, they will be evenly divided among Democrats and Republicans. Critics say this could create gridlock when deciding early-voting locations or certifying the election results.
“The legislative takeover of state and local elections boards could doom our state’s elections to gridlock and severely limit early voting. It also creates a grave risk that Republican legislators or courts would be empowered to change the results of an election if they don’t like the winner,” Cooper wrote in a statement last month. “That’s a serious threat to our democracy, particularly after the nation just saw a presidential candidate try to strongarm state officials into reversing his losing election results. Courts have already ruled the ideas in this bill unconstitutional, and voters overwhelmingly said no when the legislature tried to change the constitution.”
Republicans in North Carolina were handed a veto-proof supermajority in the state House earlier this year after Democratic State Rep. Tricia Cotham switched parties.
North Carolina Republicans overrode Cooper’s veto of their election on a 30-19 vote in the state Senate and 72-44 in the state House.
Voting rights groups have threatened to take legal action.
