The North Carolina Board of Elections on Thursday ordered a new election in the state’s 9th Congressional District, capping months of fraud allegations and triggering the first re-do balloting for a House race since the mid-1970s.
The state board voted 5-0 for a new election after evidence mounted that Republican nominee Mark Harris’ apparent 905-vote election night win over Democratic rival Dan McCready was due to ballot tampering. Harris himself earlier Thursday called for a new election.
Harris’ request came a day after his son, federal prosecutor John Harris, warned his father about shady tactics by a local political operative employed by the campaign, Leslie McCrae Dowless.
“I believe a new election should be called,” Harris said in a Raleigh hearing room. “It’s become clear to me that public confidence in the 9th District has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted.”
Harris, an ordained pastor, on election night 2018 appeared to edge out McCready by a 0.4 percent margin in the central North Carolina district. Harris months earlier beat an incumbent in the Republican primary, then-Rep. Robert Pittenger.
But Harris’ ticket to Washington began to appear in doubt shortly after Election Day in November. The previous North Carolina State Board of Elections began probing the Harris-McCready contest for irregularities by the winner. It opted against certifying the election.
Dowless’ role, in particular, came under scrutiny over allegations he tampered with ballots collected from voters. During testimony earlier Thursday, Harris said tearfully that Dowless had assured him no ballot mischief occurred.
On Wednesday, the Republican candidate’s son John Harris, an assistant U.S. attorney, had expressed concerns that Dowless was indeed collecting ballots unlawfully, despite warnings to his father.
Democrats have been calling for a new election since the controversy erupted in mid-November. Ultimately, it’s up to the House of Representatives, now controlled by Democrats, to decide who gets seated. The House Administration Committee, an arm of the House Democratic leadership, has said previously it would review the case.
The case marks the first time a House election has been re-run since 1975. In that case, Republican Henson Moore of Louisiana appeared to win on Election Night 1974 by 14 votes, but a voting machine malfunction triggered a new election. In that January 1975 contest, Moore won decisively, with about 54 percent of the vote against his same Democratic opponent, Jeff LaCaze.
