Incoming Gov. Josh Stein and Gov. Roy Cooper sought to expand a lawsuit on Monday to challenge a new wide-ranging law passed by the GOP-led legislature earlier this month that removes power from incoming Democratic officeholders.

Cooper and Stein had already filed a separate lawsuit earlier this month over the wide-ranging bill known as Senate Bill 382, but that case focused on a change making the State Highway Patrol a standalone department, removing it from the N.C. Department of Public Safety.

On Monday, Cooper and Stein added to an ongoing lawsuit filed in Wake County Superior Court to target the portion of SB 382 that transfers the governor’s power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections to the state auditor, as well as the part of the bill that shifts the power to appoint the chair of each county board of elections from the governor to the auditor.

The lawsuit they added to was originally filed by Democrats and focused on Senate Bill 749, which would have overhauled the structure of state and local election boards but was blocked from taking effect.

The defendants in the case are outgoing Republican House Speaker Tim Moore and Republican Senate leader Phil Berger.

With the passage of SB 382, which also includes significant changes to election boards, Democrats are seeking to amend the lawsuit.

The incoming auditor is Republican Dave Boliek, who voters elected to replace Democrat Jessica Holmes.

“These blatantly partisan efforts to give control over elections boards to a newly elected Republican will create distrust in our elections process and serve no legitimate purpose,” Cooper said in a news release.

Stein added, “In recent years, these legislative leaders have repeatedly tried and failed to seize control of the State Board of Elections for their own partisan gain.”

“This latest move insults the voters who rejected their power grab, violates our constitution, and must not stand,” he said.

Currently, the State Board of Elections is composed of three Democrats and two Republicans. With the new law, the board is likely to shift to a Republican majority for the first time in eight years.

“This blatantly partisan restructuring of the State Board is — once again — unconstitutional. It will undermine confidence in elections, and it contravenes the democratic principles on which our State government rests. It cannot stand,” says the lawsuit.

Among various other provisions, SB 382 moves $227 million to a Hurricane Helene relief fund but does not allocate it and also prohibits incoming Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, from taking any position in court contrary to that of the General Assembly or any stance that could lead to a state law being struck down.

The bill passed over Cooper’s veto on a party-line vote, with Democrats against it and Republicans for it.

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