North Carolina Republicans override Dem governor's vetoes of two election integrity bills

North Carolina Republicans in the state legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes on two election integrity bills, passing the bills into law.

On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled North Carolina state legislature overrode Cooper’s vetoes on Senate Bills 747 and 749, The Carolina Journal reported. The House overrode the vetoes of both bills 72-44 and the Senate followed suit, 30-19.

SB 747 requires absentee ballots to be received by Election Day and bans Zuckbucks — the injection of private money into public election administration. SB 749 splits the appointments of the state Board of Elections between the state legislature majority and minority party leaders. Previously, the governor would make the appointments on the recommendations of the two largest state parties and choose his own tie-breaker.

In August, when Cooper vetoed the bills, he claimed that Republicans were being racist with passing SB 747, saying, “If you are black or brown, Republicans really don’t want you to vote.”

House Speaker Tim Moore said Cooper was “mischaracterizing a bill that simply strengthens election integrity in North Carolina.”

Regarding SB 749, Cooper claimed that Republicans were trying “to seize control of the state Board of Elections.”

Jason Snead, Executive Director of Honest Elections Project Action, said in a statement on Tuesday regarding SB 747, “North Carolina law now bans ‘Zuckbucks’—the private funding of election administration—making it the 26th state to restrict the corrosive infusion of private donations into election administration. But the same group behind the first round of private funding has already created ‘Zuckbucks 2.0,’ the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, and two North Carolina counties have already joined. This proves the fight for election integrity is never over.”

The Democratic National Committee and the North Carolina Democratic Party have both filed a lawsuit regarding SB 747 claiming that it is “designed to undermine the right to vote in North Carolina,” The Hill reported.

One of the complaints made in the lawsuit is the Election Day deadline for absentee ballots.

Down Home North Carolina, a nonprofit represented by Elias Law Group and focused on “Building multiracial power for working & poor folks in [North Carolina] small towns & rural places,” has also filed a lawsuit regarding SB 747.

Moore responded to litigation of the laws, saying, “We expect litigation with so many things that we do, it’s just the nature of where we are right now. But we feel like the legislation we passed is A.) the correct public policy and B.) that it’s on solid legal ground.”