North Carolina Republicans just obtained an important legal victory for election integrity ahead of the midterm elections.
Breitbart News reports that a judge has just struck down a North Carolina rule that placed a key limitation on election observers.
Background
This legal battle has to do with a 2018 rule issued by the North Carolina Board of Elections. The rule had to do with the observers of at-large elections.
What the board’s rule did was require these at-large election observers to observe for at least four hours before they can be replaced by a new observer.
In September, this rule was challenged by a number of Republican groups, including the Republican National Committee (RNC), the North Carolina GOP, and the Clay Country GOP. And, while this lawsuit is ongoing, the Republicans filed a preliminary injunction looking to prevent the rule from being implemented while litigation regarding its legality takes place.
The Republicans have presented a number of arguments for their case, including that the board doesn’t have the authority to issue such a rule and that the rule, itself, violates state election law.
“Legal victory”
On Thursday, the judge ruled in favor of the Republicans.
Judge Vince Rozier in the Wake Superior Court, specifically, granted the Republicans’ request for a preliminary injunction, stopping the rule from being implemented. It ought to be noted that the legality of the law, itself, has not been decided. That will be determined at a later date.
Chances are that the board will appeal the injunction, although it has yet to indicate as much.
For now, though, the Republicans are celebrating their victory.
RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has put out a statement, saying:
The RNC, NCGOP, and Clay County GOP Chairman sued the North Carolina Board of Elections because North Carolinians deserve transparency at the ballot box. This legal victory protects the rights of poll watchers and underscores the Republican Party’s commitment to free, fair, and transparent elections in the Tar Heel State. As midterms approach, we will continue our fight to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat in North Carolina and nationwide.