RALEIGH — A split North Carolina Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 on Wednesday that the General Assembly had the authority to move appointments to the State Board of Elections from Gov. Josh Stein to State Auditor Dave Boliek, according to Carolina Journal.
The decision upholds the core of a 2024 law, Senate Bill 382, that shifted those appointment powers after Stein’s election as governor. Boliek, a Republican, has overseen board appointments since May 2025. Stein, a Democrat, challenged the transfer as a separation-of-powers violation.
Wednesday’s opinion reversed a trial court that had rejected the appointment shift last year. Judge April Wood wrote for the majority, joined by Judge Valerie Zachary. Judge John Arrowood dissented.
“In the case of the State Board, we cannot hold that the reassignment of duties from the Governor to the Auditor results in a plain and clear violation of the separation of powers,” Wood wrote, according to Carolina Journal’s account of the opinion.
The same court issued a writ of supersedeas in April 2025 that blocked the trial court’s ruling while the appeal proceeded. The state Supreme Court later upheld that stay, clearing the way for Boliek’s appointments. Those moves shifted the State Board of Elections and all 100 county boards — including Catawba County’s — from Democratic to Republican majorities, Carolina Journal reported.
Boliek praised the ruling in a prepared statement quoted by Carolina Journal.
“Today’s ruling affirms the constitutional independence of the State Auditor’s Office,” he said. “As part of the executive branch of North Carolina, we will continue to uphold the election duties prescribed to our office. Our goal remains to ensure elections in North Carolina are run impartially, effectively, and securely, and that all eligible voters have access to the voting booth.”
Wood’s majority opinion framed the fight as an intra-executive reassignment among Council of State officers, not a legislative takeover of the executive branch. The General Assembly may strip the governor of control over the State Board, she wrote, so long as the duties land with another Council of State member and the executive branch can still perform its core constitutional work.
The majority also cautioned that the opinion is not a blank check for future reshuffles. Separation-of-powers questions about moving duties among Council of State members, Wood wrote, must be decided case by case.
Arrowood dissented, arguing the state constitution vests executive power in the governor and charges the governor alone with taking care that the laws be faithfully executed. He also criticized the court’s earlier unexplained supersedeas order that effectively reversed the trial court during the appeal.
The dispute pits Stein against Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, with Boliek defending the appointment shift. Oral arguments were heard in February.
Among the first acts of the Boliek-appointed State Board was replacing longtime executive director Karen Brinson Bell with Sam Hayes, Carolina Journal reported.
Reporting drawn from Carolina Journal’s Sept. 16, 2026 coverage and Carolina Journal’s Facebook post the same day.
Earlier coverage: Boliek education lottery · Auditor liaison resigns · Stein vetoes elections bills
