All Living Former North Carolina Governors Praise State and County Elections Officials in Brief Supporting Governor Cooper in Elections Board Case

Raleigh, NC -- Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of all five living former North Carolina governors filed a brief in the North Carolina Court of Appeals supporting Governor Roy Cooper’s case against legislative leaders that challenges Senate Bill 749, enacted last year to give control of the State Board of Elections and all 100 County Boards of Elections to the General Assembly. The legislation was enacted over Governor Cooper’s veto without a single Democratic vote in support and the governor filed a lawsuit days later, challenging the bill’s blatant violation of our Constitution’s separation of powers.

“All living North Carolina governors – Republican and Democrat – agree this legislation is unconstitutional and unjustified,” said Governor Cooper. "The Courts have rejected this change and the people overwhelmingly voted to oppose it when legislative Republicans tried to change it by amending the constitution. North Carolina has conducted safe and secure elections for decades under this system and the Court should uphold it."

In March, a bipartisan three-judge panel of superior court judges permanently enjoined Senate Bill 749 from taking effect, describing it as a “stark and blatant removal of the appointment power” that plainly violated the North Carolina Constitution and multiple North Carolina Supreme Court precedents. Republican legislative leaders have appealed that decision to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

On Tuesday, Governors Hunt, Martin, Easley, Perdue, and McCrory—two Republicans and three Democrats—jointly filed a brief to the appellate court explaining that Senate Bill 749 is not only “unconstitutional, but it also lacks any legitimate justification for its enactment.” As the former governors go on to explain, North Carolina has had the same structure for its Board of Elections since 1901 and “for nearly 125 years, our Board of Elections, with its members appointed and supervised by the Governor, has faithfully ensured time and time again that our elections are lawful and accurate.”

The former governors highlight multiple examples of closely contested elections that were decided against the interests of the incumbent governor, as well as multiple examples of bipartisan praise for elections officials handling difficult elections issues in recent years. They also point out that the new board structure adopted in Senate Bill 749—which is almost certain to lead to an even split between Republicans and Democrats—would virtually guarantee deadlocked votes leading to a “situation where North Carolinians’ long-awaited end to each November election could unnecessarily extend into the holidays and beyond.” The “gridlock by design” structure in Senate Bill 749 would create a substantial risk that future elections could be decided by the courts or the legislature, instead of the voters.

Read the brief here.