Republicans Override Democrat Governor’s Vetoes On Election Security Bills
On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled legislature in North Carolina voted to override Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes of two election security bills.
Senate Bills 747 and 749 contain measures to ban ballot drop boxes, prohibit accepting mail-in ballots after election day, limit the use of private money in elections and shift authority over the state’s board of elections away from the governor.
While Cooper falsely claimed that the bills are a “threat” to democracy, Republicans argue that they will increase election integrity.
North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore (R) celebrated the news in a press release following the vote to override Cooper’s veto of SB747 — which passed in the state House with a vote of 72-44 and in the Senate with a vote of 30-19.
“North Carolina voters deserve to know their elections are safe and secure. Thankfully they can have that confidence now that we have overridden the Governor’s veto of this commonsense elections bill,” he wrote.
Moore went on to note that the bill will strengthen “the rights of poll observers,” improve “voter registration rolls by establishing a process for periodic removal of ineligible voters, including the deceased, convicted felons, and those who have moved,” and close the “same-day registration loophole.”
The legislation also prohibits election officials from using private money in administering elections. According to The Daily Wire, “The use of private money to fund elections became widely debated after the 2020 election when groups backed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg poured millions of dollars into state elections. Some argued that the money was not distributed fairly, but mainly benefited areas that leaned Democrat.”
When SB747 first passed in the North Carolina legislature, Cooper smeared Republican lawmakers as racists.
“If you are black or brown, Republicans really don’t want you to vote,” the Democrat governor claimed.
“This legislation has nothing to do with election security and everything to do with Republicans keeping and gaining power,” Cooper wrote in his veto message. “It encourages voter intimidation at the polls by election deniers and conspiracy believers.”
Meanwhile, SB749 gives the North Carolina legislature the authority to appoint members to the State Election Board instead of the governor — giving the majority and minority leaders in the legislature the ability to each select four members to serve in the positions. This move is especially necessary considering the U.S. Constitution gives authority over elections to each state’s legislature, not the executive branch of each state.
Despite this fact, Cooper attacked Republican lawmakers for passing SB749 — calling it a “legislative takeover” in his veto message.
“The legislative takeover of state and local elections boards could doom our state’s elections to gridlock and severely limit early voting,” the Democrat governor wrote. “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. That’s a serious threat to our democracy.”
The veto was overridden with the same number of votes as SB747 — 72-44 in the House and 30-19 in the Senate.
In a statement about the override, state Sen. Warren Daniel (R) called out Cooper over his desperation to maintain control over elections.
“Single-party control has led to distrust and skepticism among voters. Voters should be asking themselves why Gov. Cooper is so desperate to maintain his partisan grip on the State Board of Elections,” Daniel wrote, according to the Charlotte News & Observer.
