https://www.wsj.com/articles/n...nal-race-11550536686
North Carolina Official Alleges Ballot Fraud in Congressional Race
A North Carolina elections official on Monday alleged voter fraud in the unresolved race for the state’s Ninth Congressional District, accusing a contractor for Republican Mark Harris of engaging in a “coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee-ballot scheme.”
Mr. Harris appeared to register a 905-vote victory over Democrat Dan McCready in the Nov. 6 election. State officials have yet to certify the result, however, citing absentee-balloting irregularities.
During a Monday hearing in Raleigh, Kim Strach, the executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, presented evidence allegedly linking a contractor for the Harris campaign, L. McCrae Dowless Jr., to ballot fraud.
Mr. Dowless’s attorney, Cynthia Adams Singletary, speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the hearing, denied that he had engaged in any wrongdoing. Mr. Dowless couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Ms. Strach alleged that Mr. Dowless paid workers to collect absentee request forms and ballots and to falsify absentee-ballot witness certifications, focusing these efforts on two counties, Bladen and Robeson.
In these counties, Mr. Harris collected 679 absentee votes. The percentage of requested absentee ballots that weren’t returned in these counties was substantially higher than the countywide figure.