Cooper vetoes mask, campaign finance bill as Republicans vow override

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Gov. Roy Cooper (D) on Friday vetoed a bill that would change the law on wearing masks in North Carolina and campaign finance, as Republicans vowed to override him as soon as next week.

The legislature passed the bill earlier this month, calling for stiffer penalties for protestors who wear masks while committing other crimes and for blocking streets.

After facing criticism for seeking to end entirely the ability to wear a mask for health and safety, Republicans included a provision that allows people to wear medical or surgical-grade masks to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.

Officials at the state Dept. of Health and Human Services urged lawmakers to leave the existing law on mask usage in place.

Gov. Cooper focused his criticism of the bill on the mask regulations and the campaign finance portion.

“These dramatic, horrible changes to our campaign finance laws in the middle of an election are wrong on many levels,” he told reporters Friday, adding he thinks the bill is meant “to rescue extreme right-wing candidates that Republicans now fear will lose.”

Senate Democrats walked off the floor and refused to participate in a vote on the bill after discovering Republicans had included a new provision related to campaign finance that could allow more “dark money” to come into state elections through political committees sending money to the state parties.

Sen. Berger said the measure is meant to “level the playing field” following a North Carolina State Board of Elections opinion in 2020 that he said advantaged the Democratic Governors Association.

Republicans, who have a supermajority in the legislature, vowed to override Cooper’s veto.

“The House will swiftly override Governor Cooper’s veto of this legislation that prevents violent protestors from masking their identity and updates campaign finance law to even the playing field for both political parties,” House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) posted on X on Friday.

The bill first emerged amid the pro-Palestinian protests that occurred on college campuses, including at UNC-Chapel Hill.

While the legislation now includes language allowing the use of medical and surgical-grade masks, critics say it still opens people up to criminal charges.

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