WASHINGTON ― The wild battle over the future of North Carolina state politics became a central fight in the future of the Democratic Party on Friday, as Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) joined state lawmakers to denounce Republican efforts aimed at eliminating the political power of incoming Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.
“It’s wrong,” Ellison told reporters on a conference call. “And we have to stand against it. It’s undemocratic. It’s un-Republican. It’s un-American.”
The Republican-controlled state legislature introduced bills on Wednesday evening designed to undercut the administrative abilities of the state’s governor, giving outgoing incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory (R) the power to sign away his successor’s authority. The bills drastically limit Cooper’s ability to make appointments to various state boards and departments and require confirmation hearings for the appointments ― giving GOP lawmakers an opportunity to stifle basic state government staffing decisions.
Ellison is running to head the Democratic National Committee ― a race that has become a flashpoint over the direction of the party. Ellison, a prominent supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic presidential primary, has racked up endorsements from establishment figures, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), his successor Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a host of key labor figures who had backed Hillary Clinton in the primary. Those include the formal endorsement of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of unions. His most serious challenger is Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, who is being boosted by President Barack Obama.
On the call Friday, Ellison said the DNC had an immediate responsibility to take on the Republican legislature in North Carolina.
“The DNC has an election protection program and this is at the heart of their mission,” Ellison said. “It needs to step up right now to say this is outrageous, and get lawyers to oppose this undemocratic action that is happening right now. You gotta be in the fight … I will be.”
North Carolina has been one of the most aggressive states to pursue race-based efforts at voter disenfranchisement. Earlier this year, federal courts ruled that Republican state legislators had crafted election laws “with almost surgical precision” designed to prevent black voters from casting their ballots. The Supreme Court declined to reverse the federal court’s ruling.
The North Carolina NAACP sued several county election boards for removing voter registrations ― most of them belonging to black voters ― from the rolls en masse after campaign mailers were returned as undeliverable. A federal judge ordered the registrations be restored just before Election Day.
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, who is also running to head the DNC, issued a statement denouncing the North Carolina bills, saying state Republicans were aiming to “rewrite the foundations of government for their own benefit” in “an assault on American democracy.”
“That type of activity may be standard practice in autocracies like Russia, but it has no place in America,” Perez added. “As Democrats, it is our duty to stand up and fight actions like this.”
On Friday, Ellison made clear he believed the North Carolina state government had acted to further disenfranchise black voters by attempting to undermine the results of the gubernatorial election. Black voters typically vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party.
“This is happening with a very clear backdrop of racial bias in the election,” Ellison said.
This article has been updated to include comments from Secretary Perez.
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