North Carolina’s elections laws face several complaints from Democratic organizations and the state’s Democratic governor for voter integrity provisions, according to court filings.
The Democratic complaints filed on Tuesday allege that these laws make it excessively difficult for North Carolinians to vote and have other motivations besides election security. However, the North Carolina GOP contends that they will boost the safety and fairness of its elections. (RELATED: Red State Court Reinstates Voter ID, Overturns Previous Gerrymandering Decision)
North Carolina’s Senate Bill 747 allegedly makes it much more difficult for same-day voter registration, according to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and North Carolina Democratic Party complaint against it. It requires voters to present proof of residence in addition to a photo identification.
“In the wake of the GOP’s continuous assault on democracy, we’re using every tool in our arsenal to put an end to Republicans’ voter suppression,” DNC chair Jaime Harrison told Politico.
Voto Latino also filed a complaint against SB 747 for similar reasons, according to a court filing.
Today, Gov. Cooper filed a lawsuit challenging provisions in SB 512, a blatantly unconstitutional power grab. The efforts of Republican legislators to destroy the checks and balances in our constitution are bad for people and bad for our democracy.https://t.co/Qk3VqJHl6f pic.twitter.com/0lAY0e4wlJ
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) October 10, 2023
Moreover, Senate Bill 512 would mandate North Carolina lawmakers appoint the State Board of Elections with equal representation from both major parties, according to Axios. Previously, the law enabled the governor to appoint the board, which could lead to disproportionate partisan representation.
Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper filed a lawsuit against SB 512, according to a court document.
“This law is a blatantly unconstitutional legislative power grab,” Cooper stated in a press release. “Over the years, the North Carolina Supreme Court has repeatedly held in bipartisan decisions that the legislature cannot seize executive power like this no matter what political parties control which offices. The efforts of Republican legislators to destroy the checks and balances in our constitution are bad for people and bad for our democracy.”
Cooper previously vetoed the laws, but North Carolina’s majority-Republican legislature voted to overrule it on Tuesday, according to Politico.
“North Carolina has reason to celebrate these common sense reforms, which will make the N.C. Board of Elections a non-partisan entity and add important election integrity safeguards,” North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement. “We applaud the N.C. General Assembly for their efforts to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in the Old North State.”
The DNC, North Carolina Democratic Party, Voto Latino, Cooper’s press office and the North Carolina GOP did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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