See the very last paragraph of this story, which says that the Democratic and Republican Parties in Wake County, North Carolina, missed the deadline to submit nominees for the County Board of Elections. The Libertarian Party met the deadline. If the State Supreme Court strikes down the new law that the Governor is fighting, then the three names submitted by the Libertarian Party will become the members of the Wake County Board. Wake County includes the state capital, Raleigh.
UPDATE: see this story.
Under the old law, county boards of election consisted of three members, no more than two of which could be of the same party. The law permitted the state party chairs to recommend three party members in each county. If they did so, then the state board of elections had to appoint from those lists. There was nothing in law that prevented a state board from choosing a Libertarian, a Democrat, and a Republican; or two Libertarians and a Republican. However the state board of elections had an odd number of members and was appointed by the governor, so the state board and all the county boards would have a 2-1 bias for the governor’s party.
Last December, the legislature passed a law expanding the state board of elections to eight members, and provided that four members be chosen by legislative leaders. The county boards were also expanded to four members, and requires two members to be appointed from the two largest parties in a county. Even if the parties neglected to make a recommendation, it would appear that they could do so as part of the process of filling vacancies.
Governor Cooper, who took office in January, challenged the December bill as violating separation of powers since it incorporated appointment by the legislature. The state courts upheld the objection. The legislature rewrote the law (SB 68) to provide that all eight members of the state board be appointed by the governor, but restricting him to four of the two largest parties. Cooper vetoed SB 68, but the legislature overrode the veto. Cooper then challenged the new law, but a state district court upheld the law. Cooper is now trying to get that decision overturned in the state supreme court, and is meanwhile refusing to appoint members to the state board.
If the new law is overturned, then it appears that two Libertarians, a majority, would have to be chosen in Wake County, and then a vacancy would be filled by someone from one of the other parties.
Most of this is connected to the redistricting case. Cooper wants a State Board of Elections that will roll over to the federal district court, like happened in Virginia. Cooper is likely being instructed by Terry McAuliffe.
Something tells me that this will be ignored, but if the reverse happened the LP would be told “Tough Shit!”
According to the article, the Libertarians submitted the names of two party members, and one independent, so it would be possible for all three to be qualified.
I may be a Green, but kudos to the Libertarians for sticking it to the corrupt “Two Party System”. Here’s hoping they are able to pull this off without corrupt and illegal nonsense from the Dems and Repubs.
Is NC now like Germany in 1929-1933 ??? Blatant Donkey communists vs Elephant fascists ???
Will a New Age Union Army/Navy have to liberate NC once again ???
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
@Walt Ziobro,
That suggests an interesting strategy for the other parties. The old law says that no more than two members of a three-member board may be from one party, and that they must be selected from three-person lists submitted by the parties. The intent appears to be to prevent the SBOE from being boxed in so that the state party chair was effectively making the appointment. If Party X had the majority of the SBOE, and Party X chair submitted two names, the SBOE would be forced to appoint those two if they wanted Party X to have a majority of a CBOE. If Party X submits three names, the SBOE may exercise some discretion and appoint the more qualified two.
But if Party X submitted the names of two Party X members and one Party Y members, then the SBOE could conceivably appoint the three members from that the list – the two Party X members and the Party Y member who might be a ringer.
What is not clear from the story is whether this is a statewide phenomena. North Carolina has 100 counties, of which Wake is just one. Each has a CBOE appointed the same way. The members of each CBOE are appointed by the SBOE by lists from the state party chairs.
If the North Carolina Democratic party chair failed to supply three names for Wake County until a month after the deadline, did he do the same in the other 99 counties? Did the Libertarian Party chair meet the schedule in 100 counties, and supply two Libertarians and one independent for each? Was the Republican chair one week late in all 100 counties.
Or is there some practice where the state party chairs let the county party chairs recommend the three names for their county, and simply rubber stamp them, before forwarding them to the SBOE? If so, it is pretty funny that the Democratic Party in the county with the state capital failed to submit any names.
The NC Libertarian Party nominated county BOE members for three counties. Neither of the establishment parties nominated anyone for any county. And the Democrats failed to nominate anyone for the State Board.