RALEIGH, N.C. (NCN News) – Democratic Governor Josh Stein vetoed two bills Monday (Aug. 17), one involving the courts and other surrounding voting rules.
Stein has vetoed a bill that would allow the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court to suspend lower court judges without pay . The governor said North Carolina’s judges should be able to do their jobs without fear of reprisal from the chief justice
“This bill would have a chilling effect on judicial independence by giving the Chief Justice authority to suspend trial judges without pay, a power no other Chief Justice in the country has,” Stein said in a statement.
“North Carolina voters elect the vast majority of our judges in our state, and removing judges from their posts should first and foremost be determined by the people. Just as the respective leadership in each legislative chamber does not have the power to suspend duly elected legislators, and just as the Governor does not have the power to suspend an elected member of the Council of State, the Chief Justice should not have the power to suspend a trial judge elected by the people.”
He went on to say: “For thirteen years, the General Assembly has repeatedly played politics with the judiciary, including taking all four of the nonpartisan State Bar’s appointments to the Judicial Standards Commission for itself. It needs to stop politicizing our courts.”
Other Recent changes by the General Assembly include an provision tucked in the state budget to raise the mandatory retirement age for appellate judges to extend the tenure of Chief Justice Paul Newby. Earlier, the legislature returned party labels to top judgeships.
On the election front, Stein vetoed a bill that made changes in elections.
The General Assembly wants to make it harder for people to vote and easier to throw out votes they don’t like after Election Day. This damaging bill eliminates a week of early voting in the primary, invites sore losers to try to overturn general elections by throwing out people’s votes after the race is over, and sows distrust in our elections. Instead of trying to undermine our democracy to cling to power, the legislature should focus on improving people’s lives and winning elections fair and square,” said Stein in a statement.
Supporters of the bill – including the State Auditor who oversees the State Board of Election after changes by the GOP led legislature – criticized he Governor’s veto.
“Post-election audits are a commonsense, objective way to boost public confidence in our elections,” said State Auditor Dave Boliek in a statement. “The Governor incorrectly claims election administration has been politicized. Election access in North Carolina has expanded this year. Voters had a greater number of early voting sites and more early voting hours for the March 2026 primary compared to the May 2022 primary election.
A legislative leader also vowed to override the veto.
“House Bill 958 continues practical election reforms so we all can have greater confidence that every lawful vote in North Carolina is counted fairly and accurately. Gov. Stein’s veto of this legislation puts politics ahead of common sense and the peace of mind voters should have when they cast their ballots,” House Election Law Chair Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke) said in a statement.