Politically divided NC court panel upholds GOP takeover of state elections board, tell me about this news in (https://www.wral.com/news/nccapitol/elections-board-nc-north-carolina-appeals-court-ruling-republican-democrat-stein-power-september-2026/)

A politically divided North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 decision upholding a Republican-backed law that strips the state’s governor of the power to appoint members to the State Board of Elections.The ruling reverses a lower trial court’s decision that had declared the statutory shift unconstitutional. Under the challenged law, the authority to make board appointments was transferred from Democratic Governor Josh Stein to Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek. The majority opinion concluded that moving these appointment duties to another member of the Council of State does not represent a clear violation of the separation of powers and falls within the General Assembly’s constitutional authority to prescribe administrative duties.This legal battle stems from a law passed during a legislative session, which enabled Republican majorities to take over both the state election board and county-level boards. Critics and opponents of the law argue that it undermines the executive branch’s constitutional role and allows the legislature to reassign executive responsibilities for partisan outcomes, while supporters maintain that the legislature holds the policy-making power to determine how statutory duties are assigned among state officials.