In what Democratic leaders are calling a blatant power grab, two constitutional amendments aiming to strip the governor’s ability to make judicial appointments and appoint members of an ethics and elections board coasted through the North Carolina state House Friday during a last minute special session.
Superior Court judges blocked the amendments from the ballot earlier this week, ruling the way they were worded did not fully inform voters of the changes. The rewrites are now slated to go before the Senate Monday.
Here’s how they are now planned to appear on the ballot:
Judicial Vacancy Amendment:
“Constitutional amendment to change the process for filling judicial vacancies that occur between judicial elections from a process in which the appointment is solely at the will of the Governor to a process in which the people of the State will nominate individuals to fill vacancies by way of a commission comprised of appointees made by the judicial, executive and legislative branches charged with making recommendations to the legislature as to which nominees are deemed qualified; then the legislature will recommend at least two nominees to the Governor via legislative action that would not be subject to gubernatorial veto; and the Governor will appoint judges from among these nominees.”
Bipartisan Ethics and Elections Enforcement Amendment:
“Constitutional amendment to establish an eight-member Bipartisan Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement to administer ethics and elections law.”
Monday’s vote bypassed the committee-level after the House voted to change the rules of the special session. Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, who has filed a lawsuit against legislative leaders, called the amendments ”deceptive, unconstitutional and wrong,” in a statement Friday.
“Legislators are continuing their scheme to rip up our constitution to eliminate the separation of powers while also creating a deadlocked board of ethics that will protect legislators by stopping corruption investigations. Legislators should be voting to protect our constitution instead of insulating themselves from ethics and corruption investigations,” Cooper said.
Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue characterized the amendments as a Republican attempt to rig the system, noting six former state Supreme Court chief justices, Republican and Democrat, opposed the changes.
“This is all about a power grab and nothing more,” Blue said in a presser before the session.
Tim Moore, House Speaker, reigned smugly over the session knowing it’s all-but inevitable outcome given the Republican super-majority. He had this to say once the vote cleared:
Too much balance, said House Democratic Minority Leader Darren Jackson, who insists the eight-person ethics body (reduced from nine) will inevitably lead to a deadlock. With Republicans dead set on seizing as much control as possible ahead of the election, it’s likely the amendments will similarly breeze through the Senate Monday.
Let’s see if the courts find the rewrites more informative.