As for whether the legislatures decision can be reviewed by courts, heres what that N.C. statute actually says: The decision of the General Assembly in determining the contest of the election pursuant to this section may not be reviewed by the General Court of Justice.
While that might mean that N.C. courts cant question such a decision, federal courts definitely can. So says Richard Hasen, election law expert and professor at the University of California-Irvine.
Hasen told me Monday night that if lawmakers declare McCrory the winner: It could certainly be reviewable by a federal court regardless of what the legislature says. He went into some detail a few moments later on his election law blog. Its worth a read, but to summarize: If theres clear evidence that Cooper got more votes, and theres no plausible argument for fraud, then Cooper could claim both a Due Process and Equal Protection Clause violation if the race were handed to McCrory. Theres precedent for courts taking such a look.
Says Hasen: A brazen power grab without a plausible basis for overturning the results of a democratically conducted election? I expect the federal courts would take a very close look at such a thing.
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