The elections bill, which passed the Senate this past week, also would reduce the size of county election boards from five members to four. “Now we will take the necessary steps to begin rebuilding that trust.” “Those actions were enabled by a board that circumvented the legislative process and caused North Carolinians to lose trust in the election process,” said Senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican. Republicans have pointed to a legal settlement reached over mail ballot deadlines during the COVID-19 pandemic between the Democratic-controlled board and a union-affiliated group as proof of partisan mischief. Under current state law, no more than three members of the board can be of the same political party. Roy Cooper based on lists of candidates provided by the two parties. It would replace the current five-person model, with appointees of Democratic Gov. Republicans, who now hold veto-proof majorities, envision an eight-person State Board of Elections that likely would be comprised of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, appointed by legislative leaders of both political parties. The moves come after Republicans were thwarted in previous years by the courts and by voters, who opposed a 2018 constitutional amendment. In North Carolina, where Republicans control the legislature, lawmakers are making another attempt to take power away from the governor, a Democrat, in deciding who serves on election boards. “This has been a big saga of the state deciding that they don’t like the way Harris County residents vote, so instead they’re going to take control of the Harris County elections apparatus,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat and the county’s top elected official. By 2020, Democrat Joe Biden easily won Harris County by double digits. The county was virtually split in the 2012 presidential race. Leaders in Harris County have accused Republicans of using the issues as an excuse to take greater control of elections in a place that is increasingly tilting toward Democrats. “This is about performance, not politics,” said state Sen.
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