While Washington is embroiled in a battle over President-elect Donald Trump's nominees, a separate but equally tumultuous nomination battle boiled over this week just 300 miles down Route 1 from the nation's capital. .
North Carolina Republicans saw their veto-proof supermajority slip away by a single legislative seat in the state House of Representatives, with outgoing Democratic Gov. Roy's opposition to a bill that would transfer the governor's authority over the North Carolina Board of Elections to the state. He is trying to overturn Cooper's disapproval. Auditor's Office.
The Senate overrode the veto, but not without a flurry of floor-clearing efforts. The House is poised to try a complementary override, but the Republican plan stalls there.
The proposal is part of a bill aimed primarily at Hurricane Helen relief, and Republicans replaced the executive branch with Comptroller-elect Dave Bolique, but the governor was unable to confirm his appointment. It was criticized by the Democratic Party as a power grab. Mark Robinson, candidate for lieutenant governor, and Josh Stein, candidate for next governor.
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US-64 enters North Carolina from Tennessee near Hothouse, and signs mark the long drive across the state to the Outer Banks. (Charlie Crates)
But after loud protests and chants of “shame, shame, shame!”, Robinson, as president of the Senate, moved to withdraw from the bleachers. The explosion occurred in front of lawmakers preparing to vote on overriding the veto. Robinson has had to do so twice before, according to Carolina Public Press.
As the final successful vote was about to take place, a woman shouted, “[The law]destroys the will of the voters and is voter suppression!”
“It restructures the entire state constitution.”
Without raising his voice, Robinson said into a microphone that the women were “obstructing the legislative process.”
When a gallery warden yelled that the bill lacked “reasonable relief for hurricane victims,” Robinson slammed his gavel and yelled, “Clean up the gallery!”
“Everyone has to come out,” he said as police calmly ushered in the crowd and threatened to arrest those who remained.
“You can bang the gavel,” a man can be heard taunting Robinson as he walks away.
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North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
State Sen. Natasha Marcus (D-Huntersville), in a video filmed by the Raleigh News Observer, tells Robinson that the entire chamber must be cleared as many people respectfully watch the vote. I was heard saying that the National Diet Building is “the National Diet Building.'' someone's house. ”
Before vetoing the bill, Cooper told NBC Charlotte that although the bill is billed as Helen Relief, it “actually does not provide immediate, direct funding to western North Carolina. There wasn't,” he said. He called it a “massive power grab.”
Jim Sterling, a researcher at the North Carolina-based John Locke Foundation, has delved into the controversy, and his group submitted amicus briefs to lawmakers in recent cases related to the issue.
“It's not the governor's power to enforce all the laws. Other executive branches of the executive branch, or indeed other elected officials, are responsible for enforcing the laws. It's not just the governor.” Sterling said.
“[Mr. Cooper's]argument is that because Mr. Cooper is the head of law enforcement and has the authority to make appointments in this regard, he is effectively saying that all appointments must report to him. .”
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But overriding the veto could invalidate some parts of the lawsuit, he said.
He said the lawsuit “will likely need to be reopened based on the argument that these appointments must be made under the governor and not under other executive agencies (such as the comptroller).” .
Neither Cooper nor Robinson responded to requests for comment.
According to NBC Charlotte, moving the authority to appoint election officials to the State Audit Office will keep the state audit commission independent from Boriek and the executive branch, but his office will be responsible for making appointments. He will be responsible for managing the funds.
What will change is the current Democratic control of the election commission, sources told the outlet. The State Auditor can also appoint commissioners for all 100 counties in the Tarheel State.
Currently, candidates Cooper and Stein are also appointing members of the state commission, which must consist of three members from the majority party and two members from the minority party.
Efforts to shift appointment authority away from the governor's office have been the subject of litigation in recent months and years. The most recent decision in Cooper v. Berger held that attempts to shift appointment power to Congress unlawfully usurped the executive branch's express authority in this regard.
In an earlier case named after Cooper's predecessor, Republican Gov. Patrick McCrory, McCrory v. Berger, the state Supreme Court ruled that some appointments by lawmakers violated the separation of powers. The verdict was given.
In the state Legislature, three Republicans from the Hellenic and blighted western part of the state voted against the bill, including one, Rep. Mark Press of Canton, who said the bill would “reach many parts of western North Carolina. There is nothing to fund the needs.” – It was simply moving money from one account to another. ”
But according to FOX-8, Press said the election board appointment portion “appears to be authorized by Congress.” Therefore, if the three parties do not change their original positions, overriding the veto in the House of Representatives may just be possible.
