Democrats have controlled North Carolina's election machinery for over a century.
Republicans finally found a way to level the playing field.
And Josh Stein just got caught making this desperate claim about North Carolina's elections that exposes his real agenda.
Democrats Lose Their Stranglehold On Elections
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein stood before appeals court judges Tuesday making an argument so ridiculous it would be funny if it weren't so dangerous.
He claimed that if Republicans win this case, the legislature could "effectively ignore election results" by reassigning election board appointments.
That's Democrat projection at its finest.
For 125 years, governors controlled who sits on the state board that runs elections, registers voters, and sets voting rules.
One party appointing the people who oversee elections and count the votes — does that sound like integrity or corruption?
North Carolina Republicans finally said enough is enough in December 2024 when the GOP-controlled legislature passed Senate Bill 382 transferring election board appointments from Governor Stein to State Auditor Dave Boliek.
Both are elected statewide officials in the executive branch.
The difference: Boliek's job is literally to audit government operations and ensure accountability.
Democrats are furious they can no longer stack the deck.
Why Auditor Oversight Makes Perfect Sense
Here's what Democrats don't want you to understand.
State auditors exist to review government operations, find waste and fraud, and ensure transparency.
That's exactly what election administration needs — independent oversight from someone whose entire job is catching corruption.
Boliek isn't some partisan hack. He's a financial watchdog elected by the people to ensure government operates honestly.
Governors run on policy platforms and political agendas. Auditors run on finding problems and fixing broken systems.
Which one should oversee the people counting your votes?
The North Carolina legislature figured out what red states across America need to learn: separating election oversight from pure political control makes the system more trustworthy, not less.
The Constitution Gives Legislatures This Power
Stein's lawyer Eric Fletcher made the separation of powers argument Tuesday.
"If the members of the council of state are actually fungible and can be assigned any duty, then there is no separation of powers," Fletcher told the three-judge appeals panel.
That's pure legal nonsense.
The North Carolina Constitution explicitly gives the General Assembly power to organize the executive branch.
The legislature can "prescribe" and "alter" the "functions, powers, and duties" of executive officers.
"It's a policy decision that belongs to the General Assembly to determine which Council of State member gets which statutory duty," Republican lawyer Matthew Tilley argued.
The legislature gave governors appointment power in 1901 — back when nobody worried about election integrity because both parties trusted the process.
Times have changed.
"Just because the 1901 General Assembly gave the governor authority to appoint the board of elections' members does not mean that a later General Assembly cannot assign that authority to someone else," Republican lawmakers wrote in their brief.
Every red state legislature should be reading that sentence twice and asking why they're still letting Democrat governors control election boards.
Democrats Can't Handle Losing Control
State Auditor Dave Boliek wasted no time using his new authority to clean house.
He flipped the state board from 3-2 Democratic control to 3-2 Republican control.
The board's first major action: firing longtime elections director Karen Brinson Bell and replacing her with Sam Hayes, former general counsel for Republican House Speaker Destin Hall.
Bell ran elections under Democrat governors for years. Hayes actually understands election law and isn't beholden to the Democrat political machine.
Boliek also hired Dallas Woodhouse, former North Carolina Republican Party executive director, to focus specifically on election integrity.
Democrats screamed that hiring Woodhouse proves Republicans are "politicizing" elections.
Democrats controlled the board for decades with partisan appointees, but the second Republicans hire someone who cares about election integrity, suddenly it's a scandal.
Boliek created a bipartisan advisory commission of professional election staffers, political appointees from both parties, and academic experts.
He's operating transparently and including Democrats — more than Democrats ever did when they ran everything.
"As the member of the Council of State specifically charged with ensuring government efficiency and transparency, the Auditor has a strong interest in seeing the Board of Elections function properly and lawfully," Boliek's lawyers argued.
That's not a talking point. That's the entire reason this reform makes sense.
Courts Keep Siding With The Legislature
A three-judge trial court initially ruled Senate Bill 382 unconstitutional in April 2025.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals immediately stayed that ruling.
The state Supreme Court later upheld that decision 5-2 along party lines.
Democrat Justice Anita Earls wrote a hysterical dissent claiming voters elected Stein expecting him to control elections.
"If the voters of North Carolina wanted a Republican official to control the State Board of Elections, they could have elected a Republican Governor," Earls wrote.
That's the Democrat mindset in one sentence.
They think elections are about which party gets to control the machinery, not about building systems that work fairly regardless of who wins.
Voters elected a Republican legislature with constitutional authority to organize the executive branch.
The courts keep upholding it because the law and constitution are crystal clear.
Sources:
- Sydney Haulenbeek, "North Carolina governor continues fight for control of elections boards," Courthouse News Service, February 10, 2026.
- WRAL, "Stein, Republican NC lawmakers square off in court over control of elections," February 10, 2026.
- Carolina Journal, "Appeals Court takes on NC elections board appointments dispute," February 10, 2026.
- Carolina Journal, "All-GOP Appeals Court panel ruled against Stein in elections board dispute," July 29, 2025.
- Associated Press, "North Carolina's high court says elections board shift can continue while governor appeals," May 24, 2025.
