GOP sues North Carolina elections board for restricting election observers

The Republican National Committee along with the North Carolina GOP, and the Clay County party chair on Friday announced a suit against the North Carolina State Board of Elections over its efforts to restrict election observers and extend submission deadlines for absentee ballots.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement that "[t]he NCSBE continues to undermine the democratic process with unlawful rulemaking and further restrict the rights of election observers, threatening the integrity of our elections."

"This lawsuit is the latest development in the RNC and NCGOP's ongoing fight to preserve transparency in North Carolina elections and stop unelected bureaucrats from rewriting the law in the Tar Heel State," she continued.

The state broke for Donald Trump both in 2016 and 2020, albeit somewhat narrowly. While the state has a Democratic governor, Republicans control both chambers of the General Assembly, a situation that has led to some intra-state conflict over other election integrity efforts. The Supreme Court ruled in June that the state's Republican lawmakers in the General Assembly could defend the state's voter ID requirements, which Gov. Roy Cooper's administration opposed.