North Carolina Board Voids Election After Republican Operative's Ballot Harvesting Scheme

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 5-0 (including Republicans) to order a new election in the 9th Congressional District after discovering a ‘coordinated, unlawful and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme’ orchestrated by Republican operative McCrae Dowless on behalf of candidate Mark Harris. The November 6, 2018 election had Harris leading Democrat Dan McCready by only 905 votes, but the state refused to certify results after the Democratic Party filed affidavits alleging ballot fraud. State Board testimony revealed that Dowless ran an illegal ‘ballot harvesting’ operation in Bladen and Robeson counties, gathering hundreds of absentee ballots by offering to mail them for voters. Workers testified they were directed to collect blank or incomplete ballots, forge signatures, and even fill in votes for local candidates—all violations of North Carolina law prohibiting anyone other than the voter or family member from handling completed ballots. The bipartisan vote to void the election came after Republican candidate Harris himself conceded during testimony that ’the public’s confidence had been undermined to such an extent that a new election was warranted.’ Dowless was charged with felony obstruction of justice, perjury, conspiracy, and illegal possession of absentee ballots; he died in April 2022 before trial. Four accomplices pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in 2022. The case provided a rare documented example of actual Republican election fraud in a system where GOP officials constantly claim without evidence that Democrats commit fraud.