Republicans in several states are moving to shake up election laws and oversight in ways that critics believe could give their party an advantage in partisan stalemates in the 2024 elections .
With some states only months away from their presidential primary, proponents of these changes say they are trying to ensure election integrity and build back public trust that has been tarnished from the previous election cycle.
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The restructuring of election boards is in part compelled by the fallout from former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies claiming that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, with multiple lawmakers and officials across the nation alleging voter fraud or refusing to certify results.
North Carolina , Wisconsin , and Georgia are all facing some of the biggest disruptions to their election processes.
GOP election board takeover in North Carolina
North Carolina Republicans are attempting to gain more control in election boards, with a GOP-backed bill clearing the state House on Tuesday. It must pass one more stat Senate vote before heading to Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D-NC) desk.
Senate Bill 749 would change the makeup of state and local election boards, requiring them to have a bipartisan coalition.
“It’s not hard to see how folks might think there are problems in our elections when the very entity that’s overseeing those has a partisan lean,” Republican state Rep. Destin Hall said on the floor Tuesday. “This bill takes that partisan lean out of it.”
The North Carolina State Board of Elections is currently made up of five people appointed by the governor – three Democrats and two Republicans. The legislation proposes an increase to eight members, which would be evenly split between the two parties and would take away the governor’s power to appoint state election officials. The bill would give appointment power to the House speaker, the Senate leader, and the minority party leaders – the Republican Party currently controls both chambers of the state legislature.
While Cooper would likely veto the legislation, the North Carolina legislature has veto-proof majorities, setting Republicans up to vote to override the governor’s order.
Trump barely won North Carolina in 2020, beating President Joe Biden by slightly over 1%, a contrast to 2016 when he defeated Hillary Clinton by over 3%.
Several lawmakers representing the state and officials have backed Trump’s election fraud claims after his narrow defeat in 2020. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) was one of multiple GOP members who objected to Biden’s victory, calling for a change in 2021 to the electoral process, stating , “every region needs to have a voice.”
Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) also made claims that the election had been stolen from the former president and faced several controversies during his reelection regarding his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The one-term congressman was ousted from office by current Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) in May 2022.
Republicans pushed through another election change bill this month, Senate Bill 747, which would have curtailed absentee voting. Cooper vetoed the bill, warning that the measure diminishes equal access to ballots. It remains unclear whether or not the North Carolina legislature will override Cooper’s veto.
“The North Carolina local and state elections boards conducted secure and accurate elections that resulted in a Republican supermajority and a Trump win in NC,” Cooper said in an August statement . “But now, using the ‘big lie’ of election fraud, this same legislature wants to block voters they think won’t vote Republican, legitimize conspiracy theorists to intimidate election workers and anoint themselves to decide contested elections.”
Wisconsin tries to oust top election commission official
Wisconsin Senate Republicans voted to remove a top election official in the state last week in an attempt to change who is overseeing elections in the battleground state.
Prior to the full state Senate ruling, which voted along party lines of 22 to 11 to fire Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, a Republican-led committee recommended her removal. However, Wolfe will likely remain in her post due to Democratic pushback.
”It’s hard to believe that we’re still at a place where those now very well-analyzed and debunked claims about our system seem to still be driving decisions that are being made,” Wolfe said during a press conference held after the vote.
“Would I have expected three years ago that we would still be having discussions like this today and that the same claims were still going to be circulating and actually being used to drive decision making? No, I think that is quite unbelievable that it’s still the case,” Wolfe said.
The push to remove Wolfe dates back to earlier this summer when the Wisconsin Elections Commission was deadlocked on Wolfe’s renomination in June.
Democratic members have cited a 2022 state Supreme Court ruling that allows officers to stay in their role indefinitely if they do not step down when their term expires. Wolfe will likely keep her position as the fight to replace her as the commissioner plays out in court.
Wisconsin Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit shortly after the Republicans’ decision, siding with Democrats in saying there are no legal grounds for firing her, ensuring Wolfe will remain in her role.
”The Senate’s action today where [they] claimed to have voted on an appointment that was not before them, has no legal effect whatsoever,” Kaul said. “So, she remains the administrator. The court, I’m very confident, will confirm that, but once we get that confirmation hopefully that will end any uncertainty about this.”
Wolfe has led the agency since 2018 and faced sharp GOP criticism following the 2020 election, with Republicans rebuking the top election official for Trump’s loss and the handling of absentee ballots, as well as her response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Certified election results show Trump lost to Biden in Wisconsin by about 21,000 votes in 2020. The former president launched numerous efforts to overturn those results, including two recounts paid for by Trump.
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman led a Republican-ordered, taxpayer-funded inquiry into the 2020 election, which lasted 14 months and turned up no evidence of widespread fraud, yet he insisted on decertifying the results, which legal experts say is unconstitutional.
Gableman was fired by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in the summer of 2022, and he pushed back against government officials shortly after, calling for a revolution over the 2020 election.
“Our comfort is holding us back from taking the action that is necessary,” Gableman said at a Sept. 9, 2022, dinner hosted by the Republican Party of Outagamie County. The comments can be heard in an audio released by activist Lauren Windsor.
Georgia’s State Election Board shakes up Fulton County
In perhaps the biggest election scandal from 2020, where Trump was indicted for a fourth separate case this year in August, Atlanta prosecutors charged him over his efforts to unlawfully overturn his election loss in Georgia. Trump faces a total of 13 counts in the indictment, and other charges are included against 18 of his Republican allies.
The latest update in Trump’s election interference case came on Wednesday when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told a judge that six of the attorneys defending some of those indicted have conflicts of interest.
In the aftermath of 2020, Georgia Republicans overhauled local election boards facing concerns. Under a 2021 law, the State Election Board has the final authority in determining whether to replace local state-appointed election officials after conducting an investigation or a performance review.
A Republican Georgia official told the Washington Examiner, “Most of Georgia’s constitutional leaders have shown a commitment to staying above the fray. When it comes to knee-jerk policy decisions, there’s a loud chorus out there in the peanut gallery demanding a grab bag of half-cocked ideas, but in reality it only represents 5% of Georgians.”
Republicans requested a performance review of local election officials in Fulton County, becoming the first Georgia county to do so, resulting in a 17-month evaluation of election operations. While the investigation panel didn’t find any truth to the claims of rampant voting fraud or intentional misconduct by election workers, the report listed a number of issues in Fulton County with training processes and overall organization, noting improvements with those factors.
“In prior years, disorganization and a lack of a sense of urgency in resolving issues plagued Fulton County elections,” the report read. “However, Fulton County has shown improvement in administering elections from 2020 to 2022.”
“Prior staff that oversaw elections, voter registration, redistricting, and absentee ballots are no longer with the office, and new staff can bring new energy and renewed Commitment,” the report said.
Georgia’s State Election Board declined to take over elections in Fulton County despite the report showing improvements, voting unanimously in June to end its performance review into the county.
In the weeks following, former U.S. District Judge William Duffey stepped down from his role as chairman for 14 months on the board. Duffey cited Georgia’s 2021 election law in his departure after being appointed in June 2022.
“Now that a new board structure is in place, it is important to name the next chair in sufficient time for that person to continue to prepare for the 2024 election cycle,” Duffey said.
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In an effort to bolster election integrity in Georgia, officials said the state is currently running hardware and software checks in voting systems across all counties, working in partnership with the Election Assistance Commission.
“We’ve been conducting these checks in all 159 counties to prepare for a secure and fair 2024 election,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “We’re looking at all the hardware, software, and letting Georgia voters know why our state has the most secure elections in the country.”