Cooper quickly vetoes both bills lawmakers passed in special session

The General Assembly called itself into session on Tuesday to devise short captions to appear on the November ballot with the six proposed constitutional amendments they have put before voters. While in Raleigh, they also passed a bill spelling out who could and could not have a party label next to their names on the ballot.

"Legislative Republicans want to roll back checks and balances in order to pick their own judges and put special interests in charge of education, voting, clean water and more," Cooper said in a statement. "Republican legislators are shamefully attempting to mislead voters in order to undermine our state’s constitution and weaken the separation of powers between the branches of government."

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore promised quick overrides of both vetoes.

"The governor’s outlandish claim that labeling proposed constitutional amendments as ‘Constitutional Amendments’ and conforming the filing requirements for judicial candidates to every other public office in the state is somehow 'rigging the system' is a poor attempt to protect political gamesmanship by his party," Berger and Moore said in a joint statement. "We will override these vetoes to deliver clear and consistent voter information on ballots this November."

Lawmakers provided less than 24 hours' notice for the special session, saying they were up against an Aug. 8 deadline to get the ballot captions to the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. A three-member commission is tasked by state law to write those captions, but Republican legislative leaders worried the two Democrats on that panel would approve captions that portray the amendments in a negative light.

The bill approved by the General Assembly would label each amendment simply as "Constitutional Amendment," followed by the language approved in earlier legislation on each proposed amendment. Democrats called that misleading, noting, for example, that the language for a proposal to give lawmakers the power to appoint judges between elections merely asks voters whether they want a merit-based system to fill judicial vacancies.

Proposed amendments to be labeled simply 'Constitutional Amendment' on ballot

"These proposed constitutional amendments would dramatically weaken our system of checks and balances. The proposed amendments also use misleading and deceptive terms to describe them on the ballot," Cooper wrote in his veto message. "This bill compounds those problems by stopping additional information that may more accurately describe the proposed amendments on the ballot. Voters should not be further misled about the sweeping changes the General Assembly wants to put in the constitution."

The second bill reverses a measure lawmakers approved a year ago as part of the GOP's decision to cancel judicial primaries this year while reworking trial court districts. The measure dropped the 90-day requirement for people to file as a candidate with a particular party.

Bill stripping GOP designation from Supreme Court candidate heads to Cooper

Chris Anglin, a former Democrat, switched to the Republican three weeks before filing as a candidate for the state Supreme Court, threatening to split the Republican vote and cost incumbent GOP Justice Barbara Jackson her seat on the high court.

Lawmakers decided to reinstate the 90-day requirement and said those affected by the change could either drop out of their races or appear on the ballot without a party label. Aside from Anglin, two District Court judges and one Superior Court judge – from both parties – would be affected.

"Changing the rules for candidates after the filing has closed is unlawful and wrong, especially when the motive is to rig a contest after it is already underway," Cooper wrote in his veto message. "All judge elections should be free of partisanship, and continued undermining of these elections creates confusion and shows contempt for the judiciary."