“Shaken Us To The Core”

Ken AshfordElection 2018, Local Interest, Voter Suppression & Voter SecurityLeave a Comment

What is happening in NC-9 even has Republicans upset.

Yesterday, Dallas Woodhouse, Executive Director of the North Carolina Republican Party,  and the North Carolina GOP were calling for the results to be certified.

But that’s different now….

TPM:

Of particular concern is an absentee voting operation apparently run by a local operative named Leslie McCrae Dowless, who was reportedly working as a contractor for a consulting firm hired by Harris’ campaign. Dowless is accused of paying workers to pick up absentee ballots it certain areas of the county. North Carolina law only allows the voters themselves or their close relatives to turn in their mail-in ballots.
A congressional candidate for whom Dowless reportedly worked in 2016 also performed extremely well in absentee voting, despite finishing third in the race.

Dowless has denied any wrongdoing, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Some of the Bladen County residents who believe they were approached by the workers told reporters that they didn’t request the absentee ballots they were sent and were asked to hand over the ballots for the workers to submit. Others reported turning over their absentee ballots to the workers, only to find out later from election officials that the ballot was never submitted to the state.

While state investigators continue their probe, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — who is likely to become House Speaker in January — has suggested that the House might not seat Harris if questions about his election remain.

Woodhouse in his email Thursday acknowledged this possibility, while discussing a possible delay in the certification if the board can’t come to a final conclusion this month.

“While this is a horrible outcome for the more than 750,000 people who would be unrepresented in Congress, that is already likely because U.S. House Democratic leadership have already said they are unlikely to seat Mr. Harris,” he said.

Related: The NC GOP paid 17K to the consulting group that employed McCrae Dowless, the convicted felon at the center of the controversy

UPDATE —