The North Carolina Court of Appeals paved the way for a law removing appointment power to the state elections board from Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC) and giving it to Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek to go into effect.
On Wednesday, the appellate court temporarily paused a Wake County Superior Court ruling from last week, which blocked the law, by a unanimous three-judge panel via an unsigned ruling. The order staying the decision is valid “pending disposition of defendant-appellants’ appeal or until further order of this Court,” per the appeals court.
The state elections board is made up of five members, typically three from the appointer’s party and two from the minority party, based on lists given by each of the state parties. With the court ruling allowing the law to take effect on Thursday, the appointment powers have transferred over to the state auditor. Boliek has already announced three of his appointments.
Boliek announced the appointments of Francis X. De Luca, Stacy Clyde Eggers IV, and Robert Anthony Rucho as the GOP members of the board, and a spokesperson for his office said he “remains ready to appoint members from the list of nominees submitted by the Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party.”
“Managing our elections is no small task,” Boliek said in a statement about the appointments. “It takes time, dedication, and professionalism. We need full confidence in our elections, and I’d like to thank these individuals for their willingness to serve.”
While the GOP celebrated the appeals court ruling, Stein said he would appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, which has dealt with another legal saga in recent weeks regarding the election for one of its seats.
The North Carolina governor slammed the appeals court ruling Wednesday in a post on X, claiming that it was part of a scheme to have Republican Jefferson Griffin win the contested Supreme Court election over incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs.
Jefferson Griffin lost. When you lose, you work harder the next time to win. You do not try to change the rules after the election is over. Today’s Court of Appeals decision about the Board of Elections poses a threat to our democracy and the rule of law. The Supreme Court should…
— Josh Stein (@JoshStein_) April 30, 2025
“Jefferson Griffin lost,” Stein said. “When you lose, you work harder the next time to win. You do not try to change the rules after the election is over. Today’s Court of Appeals decision about the Board of Elections poses a threat to our democracy and the rule of law. The Supreme Court should not allow it to stand.”
NORTH CAROLINA COURT BLOCKS LAW UNDERMINING GOVERNOR’S APPOINTMENT POWER
“I fear that this decision is the latest step in the partisan effort to steal a seat on the Supreme Court,” he added. “No emergency exists that can justify the Court of Appeals’ decision to interject itself at this point. The only plausible explanation is to permit the Republican State Auditor to appoint a new State Board of Elections that will try to overturn the results of the Supreme Court race.”
Recounts in the state Supreme Court race showed Riggs leading Griffin by 734 votes, but Griffin has challenged the eligibility of roughly 60,000 ballots, halting the race’s certification months past the other races held in November 2024.
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