Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday vetoed a sweeping bill that would have changed campaign finance laws and laws about wearing masks in public, as well as imposed additional criminal and civil penalties on protesters, calling it an attempt to let billionaires buy the state’s elections.
Cooper’s veto message did not address the parts of the bill relating to protesters but criticized other sections relating to mask wearing and campaign finance laws.
The bill passed the state Assembly on a party-line vote earlier this month, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed, and some lawmakers walked out of the room in protest, refusing to vote for the bill.
“This bill creates a major loophole that allows unlimited, secret campaign funds to be funneled into North Carolina in the middle of an election year,” Cooper wrote. “While voters are in the dark, the scheme allows anonymous, out-of-state billionaires to flood North Carolina with campaign funds to bail out far-right candidates Republicans fear will lose. The bill also removes protections for people who want to protect their health by wearing masks and threatens criminal prosecution.”
Republicans say the campaign finance changes would help create a more level playing field in the gubernatorial race to replace term-limited Gov. Cooper, with Democratic candidate Josh Stein raising millions more dollars than Republican candidate Mark Robinson, according to the latest campaign finance reports.
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