NORTH CAROLINA -- A new bill has been filed in the NC House of Representatives to restructure the State Board of Elections.
- The current nine member board made up of four Democrats, four Republicans and one unaffiliated, was deemed unconstitutional by a three-judge panel mid-election season
- The new bill appears to create two boards: a State Board of Election Administration and a State Board of Ethics, Lobbying and Campaign Finance.
- The current board was set to expire Monday, but lawmakers filed to stay to keep them in tact for two weeks, which was granted.
Rules chair representative David Lewis filed the bill before the House adjourned Monday night. It had its first reading and was referred to the House committee on elections and ethics law. It is the initial attempt by House Republicans to restructure the state's Board of Elections.
The current nine member board made up of four Democrats, four Republicans and one unaffiliated, was deemed unconstitutional by a three-judge panel mid-election season and legislators were directed to change the make-up by December 3.
Lawmakers also attempted to get a constitutional amendment passed during the mid-term elections for appointing the board but that failed.
The new bill appears to create two boards: a State Board of Election Administration and a State Board of Ethics, Lobbying and Campaign Finance.
The Board of Election Administration would have five members, controlled and appointed by the governor with no more than three of those members being from the same party.
The governor would choose from a list of nominees submitted by the party chairman of the two political parties.
The other bipartisan Board of Ethics, Lobbying and Campaign Finance would have eight members with half the board appointed by the governor and the other half by state lawmakers.
Both boards would be four-year terms.
The current board was set to expire Monday, but lawmakers filed to stay to keep them in tact for two weeks, which was granted.
That board will now dissolve on December 12.