State Board of Elections proposal: Power grab or good government?
You can make a strong argument that Senate Bill 749 would improve trust in elections. But it's time for the General Assembly to drop the idea and move on.
Battling over appointments is a time-honored tradition in North Carolina politics.
For the last 50 years1, state legislators have responded to a political opponent in the governor's office by taking away his power — especially when it comes to naming members of the scores of boards and commissions that wield executive authority.
Democrats in the General Assembly did it when Republican governors Jim Holshouser and Jim Martin took office in the 1970s and 80s. And now Republicans are continuing to do it with Democrat Roy Cooper in the Executive Mansion.
Usually, you can chalk it all up as petty partisan power grabs. But every once in a while, it actually results in good governance.
So which is it now? The General Assembly released last week a proposal to turn North Carolina's State Board of Elections into an entity evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.
The answer is complicated. You can make a strong argument that the General Assembly’s proposed changes would result in better admin…