AP reporting:
A North Carolina judge is temporarily blocking a new Republican-backed law that strips the incoming Democratic governor of his control over election boards just before he takes office.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Don Stephens ruled Friday that the risk to free and fair elections justified stopping the law from taking effect this weekend until it could be reviewed more closely. Stephens plans to review the law Thursday.
By way of background, after the GOP lost the North Carolina Gubernatorial election, the Republican-controlled legislature held an emergency session, ostensibly to pass budget measures. They took advantage of the session to pass a law that severely curtails the incoming Governor’s powers and gives the GOP a lock on control of the electoral process.
The new laws reduce the number of positions the governor can hire and fire at will from 1,500 to 300, strip the governor’s party of the power to control the state board of elections, require legislative approval of gubernatorial cabinet appointments, and move the power to appoint trustees for the University of North Carolina to the legislature. -— Politico
This injunction is only a temporary measure, but it gives us some hope, at least, that the GOP’s last minute attempt to hold on to power could be halted by the courts.