Under the Dome: Elections are only months away. That means lawsuits.

Elections are just a few months away, which in North Carolina can mean only one thing: lawsuits!

You may have thought the Green Party saga was over after the state board of elections reversed its previous decision and certified the party. But now the matter is tied up in two separate lawsuits in federal and state courts.

The state board initially voted against certifying the Green Party in June, saying it had uncovered evidence of fraud in the petition process and needed time to investigate. At its meeting Monday, the board said that, while its investigation is ongoing, the party had enough valid signatures to qualify as a new political party.

Because the state board voted to certify after the July 1 candidate filing deadline, the only way the party can get on the ballot now is through a court order. That will be decided as part of the Green Party’s initial federal lawsuit against the state board in which it argued the board’s decision against certification violated the party’s due process and First Amendment rights.

In a filing released before the vote, the state board wrote that it would not oppose a judge’s decision to extend the deadline if the board voted to certify.

A hearing in this suit was originally scheduled for Aug. 8, but after the board’s vote to certify, the judge wrote that the process could likely be expedited, which means a decision on whether to include the Green Party’s candidates on the ballot could come by the end of the week.

But, of course, there’s more to it.

After the state board voted to certify the Green Party, the N.C. Democratic Party announced it would be filing a lawsuit to intervene in state court. The Democrats sued the state board, arguing that because the investigation into fraud in the petitioning campaign is ongoing, the board should not have voted to certify.

“The unlawful inclusion of NCGP and its candidates on the ballot in violation of North Carolina law harms NCDP’s electoral prospects because NCDP’s candidates will have to compete with additional NCGP candidates, despite the fact that NCGP did not properly qualify as a party under North Carolina law,” the Democrats’ lawsuit said.

The Elias Group, a D.C.-based law firm affiliated with major Democratic politicians, is also involved in the lawsuit. The Elias Group had previously submitted complaints to the state board asking it to deny the Green Party’s certification.

“It’s disappointing that a party that calls itself the Democratic Party would engage in this blatant anti-democratic effort to suppress voter choice,” Oliver Hall, the Green Party’s lawyer said in an interview with The News & Observer.

In another third-party lawsuit, Common Cause NC announced this week that it is suing House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger to allow unaffiliated voters to serve on the state board of elections. The board is currently structured to have three members from the current governor’s party and two from the largest remaining party.

“The state law barring plaintiffs and all other unaffiliated voters from serving on the state board serves no public or valid purpose but instead is a means to entrench the Democratic and Republican political parties in power,” the lawsuit said.

Unaffiliated is the most popular party designation among voters in North Carolina.

One final lawsuit involves Attorney General Josh Stein, who sued to block the enforcement of a century-old law banning the publication of false, derogatory statements about politicians. Stein was the subject of a criminal investigation based on the law, but won a temporary restraining order last month, with a judge agreeing that the law was likely unconstitutional.

Both sides were back in court on Thursday for further arguments and a ruling is expected next week.

MORE FROM THE TEAM

Sen. Thom Tilllis joined a nearly unanimous vote in the Senate to expand NATO membership to Finland and Sweden, Danielle Battaglia reports. The vote isn’t binding, but shows the country’s united support of expanding the military alliance at a time when tensions between NATO member countries and Russia is steadily increasing.

Avi Bajpai reports that Attorney General Josh Stein is committed to keeping a 20-week abortion ban from becoming legal in North Carolina. The ban was blocked by a federal judge in 2019, but Republican leaders in the legislature argue the injunction is no longer valid given the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June. Stein recused himself from the case, but said he would do “everything in my power” to protect abortion access.

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— By Kyle Ingram, reporter for The News & Observer. Email me at kingram@newsobserver.com and follow me on Twitter @kyle_ingram11.