A panel of North Carolina superior court judges unanimously sided with Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) to strike down a law looking to strip his authority over appointing election boards in the state.

The three-judge panel ruled the law passed by the Republican-led legislature last year was unlawful in that it attempted to override powers given to the governor by the state’s constitution.

The law attempted to change the board’s makeup from five governor appointees, with three from the executive’s party, to eight members appointed by the legislature based on the suggestions from top party officials in the state legislature. The court had granted a preliminary injunction halting the law in November.

Cooper applauded the decision in a statement on Tuesday, calling on Republicans to “stop their efforts” to change the election boards.

Governor Cooper statement on today’s court ruling in favor of the Governor on State Board of Elections lawsuit: pic.twitter.com/4cuvkUf9lP

— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) March 12, 2024

“The State Board of Elections continues to uphold the highest standards of fairness, and Republican leaders should stop their efforts to control the ballot box and sow chaos before the November elections,” Cooper said.

“Bipartisan courts and voters have repeatedly rejected these clearly unconstitutional attempts to seize control of elections,” he added.

The North Carolina Republican Party decried the decision, urging lawmakers to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

“It is simply unbelievable that making boards of elections bipartisan and putting both parties on equal footing is wrong,” North Carolina GOP Communications Director Matt Mercer said in a statement.

“Republicans in the legislature are within their rights to enact laws making administration of elections — the bedrock of our system of government — operate with more input from each parties’ leaders, not beholden to one man,” he added.

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The bid to reshape state election boards comes as Republicans hold a supermajority in the state legislature but have been unable to win the governor’s mansion since 2012, meaning a Democrat has helmed appointments for the past seven years.

The November election, for the presidency and the governorship, is expected to be fiercely contested by Republicans and Democrats. It will be one of the key swing states for President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in both candidates’ quest for a second term in the White House.