‘GRAVE RISK’

North Carolina GOP Overrides Guv’s Veto of Law to Overhaul Elections

The bill in question overhauls the way the state’s elections will be conducted heading into 2024.

The supermajority of Republicans in the North Carolina State Legislature killed the Democratic governor’s veto of a law that overhauls the way the state’s elections are run in a move that he called “a serious threat to our democracy.” The bill, SB 749, creates bipartisan election boards that will be appointed by an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, with Gov. Roy Cooper warning that the new system “could doom our state’s elections to gridlock and severely limit early voting” in an election year. “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 added in his veto message last month. The law is expected to face challenges by voting rights groups, with protesters gathering outside of the Legislative Building on Tuesday, according to The News & Observer. Republicans, who hold a three-fifths majority in the state legislature, also overrode four other vetoes by Cooper on Tuesday, including on a number of bills that weaken environmental protections.