CJ Staff
Republican state legislative leaders are dropping their appeal in a court battle with outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper over restructuring the State Board of Elections. GOP lawmakers argue in a recent court filing that a new state law renders the case moot.
The state Court of Appeals was slated to hear arguments in the Cooper v. Berger elections board case. The governor had challenged a 2023 state law replacing the existing five-member state elections board with a new eight-member group.
The new board would have split membership evenly between the two major political parties, with Republican and Democratic legislative leaders appointing board members. The governor appointed elections board members in the past, and his party has enjoyed a one-seat majority on the board.
A bipartisan three-judge Superior Court panel issued a unanimous order in March blocking the new eight-member board from taking effect. Legislative leaders appealed that decision. All five living former North Carolina governors filed a brief in October supporting Cooper.
Now lawmakers argue that the case no longer needs to proceed at the state’s second-highest court. Senate Bill 382, approved on Dec. 11 over Cooper’s veto, shifts authority for the elections board to the elected state auditor. Republican Dave Boliek won that office in the November election.
SB 382 repealed the portion of the 2023 state law that prompted the Cooper v. Berger lawsuit. The repeal “moots further review of the litigation concerning that Session Law’s constitutionality,” according to a motion legislative leaders filed Friday. “Based on mootness, Defendants seek leave to withdraw their appeal or otherwise have it dismissed.”
Legislators’ lawyers consulted lawyers representing Cooper and the state executive branch. “Neither party has an objection to the requested relief,” according to the court filing.
It’s possible that Cooper or his successor, Governor-elect Josh Stein, will file a new suit over the elections board changes featured in SB 382. Cooper and Stein already have filed suit over a provision in SB 382 addressing the authority for appointing the State Highway Patrol commander.
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