GOP accused of power-grab with bill being pushed through weeks before Dems take over in NC

North Carolina Republican lawmakers have just a few weeks before a Democrat takes over the governor's mansion and the GOP loses its supermajority in the legislature — and they're being accused of trying to push through some last-minute changes that would weaken the incoming administration.

Taking to X on Wednesday, election law expert David Becker, who is the executive director of The Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the Republicans are "dropping some major structural and procedural changes to North Carolina elections in a 'hurricane relief' bill during the lame-duck session."

He pointed out that the state "overwhelmingly elected Gov-elect Josh Stein," and as governor he'll have the power to appoint a new majority to the State Board of Elections. Now Republicans are trying to move that power to the state auditor — who, for the first time in 15 years, will be a Republican.

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Becker also noted that there's not a single state auditor in the country that has any power over elections.

"In addition, for no apparent reason and with virtually no notice to the actual election officials in North Carolina, this bill would drastically reduce the time voters had to fix administrative errors on ballots, and put inexplicable burdens on election officials of both parties," Becker wrote.

He said that in the state, there are already a number of barriers to voting by mail, which requires a witness to sign the ballot and verify that it was filled out by the voter who received it.

"If there's a problem with that, voters will have less time to fix it, meaning valid votes by eligible voters will likely go uncounted," he said.

He said that these changes were brought up in a last-minute lame-duck session. The measure will be voted on 48 hours after it was proposed, giving the public zero notice to lodge complaints or lawmakers time to debate it.

Lawmakers "acted with some disregard for the voters in the past," Becker said. "Just a few years ago, they sought to maintain extreme gerrymanders in contravention of state court rulings, by applying an extreme 'Independent State Legislature' theory. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected their efforts."

He said that there is a legitimate debate to be had and the legislature should "hit the 'pause' button."