Stalled 9th District Congress Election Has Hearing Set

By Tristan Dufresne 2/5/19 1:12PM

RALEIGH — The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced Monday, February 4 that in two weeks there will be the first, possibly only, hearing into the available evidence of election fraud in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready.

Also under investigation are "three local contests in Bladen and Robeson counties," seat 2 on the District Court of Judicial District 16B, Bladen County Commissioner for District 3 and Bladen Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.

Set for 10 AM Monday, February 18, the hearing will be open to the public at 217 East Edenton Street in Raleigh at the North Carolina State Bar. According to the press release, the hearing is "expected to conclude within two days, but the State Board has reserved the site from February 18-20.

"Seating is limited," the press release continued, "but the hearing likely will be live-streamed."

Appointed less than a week ago by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, the five-member board will examine allegations of absentee voting irregularities in a race in which Harris currently leads McCready by 905 votes, though the results remain unofficial and uncertified.

The previous nine-member Board of Elections had originally scheduled the evidentiary hearing for a date in January, but a three-judge panel ordered it dissolved on December 28, 2018 based on an October ruling that its makeup was unconstitutional, mostly on grounds of limiting the governor's power over members.

In late January, attorneys for Harris asked Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway to certify the election results without regard to the ongoing investigation. Ridgeway denied Harris' request.

On February 7, the Board will meet to discuss other topics but will allot some of that time to an executive session during which staffers will brief board members on each investigatory point to be presented at the evidentiary hearing.

The new Board of Elections Chairman Bob Cordle told the Charlotte Observer that a vote will be held at the conclusion of the hearing.

The Board consists of three Democrats and two Republicans with current procedural rules stating that three votes can certify an election and four can call for a new election.

North Carolina's 9th District remains unrepresented in the United States Congress until a candidate is certified.