http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/16/13971368/republican-power-grab-north-carolina-explained
"Both bills have passed (McCrory signed one on Friday) effectively crippling Cooper from exercising the powers of the office McCrory himself enjoyed. This is part of a longer history of state Republicans trying to change the rules in their favor. In 2011, after Republicans took control of both the state House and Senate, they passed a redistricting plan that would ensure Republican control in the state’s representation, and attempted to pass sweeping voting restrictions that disproportionally affected Democratic voters — measures that have thus far been successfully challenged in court as discriminatory. What’s happening in North Carolina is a microcosm of what Democrats fear nationwide. Trump lost the popular vote, but won sweeping control over government anyway."