North Carolina election officials have voted to hold off on certifying a House race, pending the results of an investigation into claims of voting irregularities. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI |
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Dec. 4 (UPI) -- One of the closest U.S. congressional races has taken another unusual turn, as the North Carolina board of elections is holding off on certifying the results pending a fraud inquiry.
The investigation is looking at the House race in the 9th District, where Republican Mark Harris edged Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes. But three hours of testimony before the elections board was enough to convince the nine-member panel -- with four Democrats, four Republicans, and one independent -- to vote 7-2 Friday against accepting the result amid claims of voter fraud.
The board will next hold an evidentiary hearing in the coming weeks, NBC News reported.
The controversy centers around absentee ballots in Bladen County, where Harris won convincingly behind a surge of those votes not seen in any other county. Earlier this year, Harris needed the same surge in the same county to unseat GOP incumbent Robert Pittenger in the party primary by 828 votes, WFAE-TV reported.
Twenty-two percent of Bladen County's votes were cast by absentee-by-mail ballots. The next highest percent was Mecklenburg County, at 1.6 percent.
Harris won 60 percent of Bladen County's absentee ballots, despite only 19 percent of those being cast by Republicans and 39 percent not identifying their affiliation, Catawba College political science professor J. Michael Bitzer told NBC News.
"North Carolina voters deserve to know the truth, and as more details come to light every day, it becomes increasingly clear that a full investigation must be completed before the election can be certified," North Carolina Democratic Party chairman Wayne Goodwin said Monday.
Democrats are pointing to political operative McCrae Dowless, who was hired by Harris' campaign in Bladen County, for the alleged voting irregularities. Dowless complained loudly about voter fraud in a small race he won in 2016, but refused to answer if he paid people to collect, fill in and turn in absentee ballots, which would violate North Carolina law.
It was reported at the time Dowless told someone he had 80 associates who worked to collect absentee ballots around the county. Those accusations are now raising questions about Harris's primary victory over Pittenger, as well.
Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, said the reported voting irregularities are unproven and accused the elections board of lack of transparency in its investigation.
