RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on the partisan clash between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the Republican-dominated legislature over an elections administration law (all times local):
11:45 a.m.
North Carolina Republican legislative leaders have rushed to the courthouse to try to block expected efforts by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to get a new elections administration law thrown out as unconstitutional.
Lawyers for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger filed motions with two state courts Tuesday asking that previous rulings of a three-judge panel be vacated. The judicial panel had determined a law approved just before Cooper took office that merged state ethics and election boards was illegal.
So the General Assembly reworked that law in new legislation that Cooper vetoed last week, but Republican lawmakers voted Tuesday to override that veto, prompting the court filings less than an hour later. Lawmakers say the new measure addresses concerns the judges raised. Cooper disagrees, saying the new law is just a repackage version of the old unconstitutional law.
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11:10 a.m.
Republican lawmakers have voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that reduces his authority over state elections, the latest partisan clash in North Carolina over laws that chip away at executive branch power.
The House completed the override Tuesday, a day after the Senate cast a similar vote. The fight likely isn’t over - Cooper has threatened to sue over the new law, which takes effect early next week.
The bill creates a combined elections and ethics board with equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. A court already has overturned a similar law approved just before he took office. Republicans argue the new law addresses the constitutional concerns of judges.
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