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# North Carolina Appeals Court Upholds Auditor’s Election Board Power
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-north-carolina-2026-09-17-a/
- Published: 2026-09-17T19:26:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T19:26:35.000Z
- Description: A divided North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld the transfer of election-board appointment power from the governor to the state auditor, leaving the current boards in place while Gov. Josh Stein prepares an appeal.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: State News, North Carolina

A divided North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld the General Assembly’s decision to transfer appointment authority over the State Board of Elections from the governor to the state auditor. The [September 16 majority opinion](https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/stein-v-hall-boliek-auditor-election-board-coa-opinion.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reversed a three-judge trial panel and left Republican Auditor Dave Boliek’s appointments in place while Democratic Gov. Josh Stein prepares an appeal.

Judge April Wood, joined by Judge Valerie Zachary, concluded that the transfer did not plainly violate North Carolina’s separation-of-powers clause. The majority reasoned that election administration remained within the executive branch because the auditor is an independently elected Council of State officer. The opinion stressed that the decision does not establish a universal rule for moving duties among statewide officials; future transfers must be evaluated under their own facts and legal context.

The dispute arose from [Session Law 2024-57](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/HTML/2023-2024/SL2024-57.html?ref=theamericanquorum.com), a wide-ranging measure enacted over then-Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. Among other changes, it reassigned the power to appoint the five-member State Board and county election-board chairs. The [State Board’s current structure](https://www.ncsbe.gov/about?ref=theamericanquorum.com) allows no more than three members from one political party and gives the agency statewide responsibility for election administration and campaign-finance compliance.

## The disagreement centers on executive control

Stein argued that removing appointment and removal authority prevented him from carrying out his constitutional duty to ensure that state laws are faithfully executed. Wood’s majority found that the Board’s statutory design limits partisan activity and said policy objections to the transfer were for lawmakers, not the court. Judge John Arrowood dissented, writing that administering election law is a core executive function and that the governor must retain meaningful control over the officials performing it.

The ruling’s practical reach extends beyond the five-member state panel. North Carolina’s [100 county boards](https://www.ncsbe.gov/about-elections/county-boards-elections?ref=theamericanquorum.com) operate voting sites, maintain registration lists, count absentee and provisional ballots, certify county results and hear election protests. State law gives the auditor authority to appoint each county board’s chair, while the State Board appoints the remaining county members. Those arrangements will continue unless the state Supreme Court intervenes.

The political consequences are immediate but the litigation is not finished. Boliek’s 2025 appointments created a three-Republican, two-Democrat State Board, and the current panel will oversee the November 3 midterm election unless a later order changes its composition. Stein said he would appeal, while Boliek said the ruling affirmed the auditor’s constitutional independence, according to [statements reported after the decision](https://ncnewsline.com/2026/09/16/nc-appeals-court-okays-auditor-appointing-elections-board-members/?ref=theamericanquorum.com).

For voters, the decision does not itself change registration deadlines, ballot eligibility or polling procedures. It determines who selects the officials responsible for applying those rules. The next consequential step is whether the North Carolina Supreme Court accepts the appeal and, if so, whether it pauses the appellate ruling or allows the present boards to remain through the election.