That is an excellent question!
My next question is that clearly witnesses in the election hearing stated they committed crimes -- when will the Wake County DA or State Election Board refer these people to the State DA for prosecution?
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The latest from the 9th District Controversy
- Thread starter gwb-trading
- Start date
That is an excellent question!
My next question is that clearly witnesses in the election hearing stated they committed crimes -- when will the Wake County DA or State Election Board refer these people to the State DA for prosecution?
An in-depth summary article...
After Harris admissions, a new election in 9th District
https://www.wral.com/after-harris-admissions-a-new-election-in-9th-district/18208305/
After Harris admissions, a new election in 9th District
https://www.wral.com/after-harris-admissions-a-new-election-in-9th-district/18208305/
The news today is that Republican Mark Harris may not run again. He has had two strokes in the past few weeks and spent a good number of days in the hospital. Rumor is that he may back be in the hospital again today.
There are open questions if new primaries will be held for each party.
Dan McCready jumps back into 9th District race
https://www.wral.com/dan-mccready-jumps-back-into-9th-district-race/18210209/
Democrat Dan McCready wasted no time restarting his campaign after a new election was ordered in the 9th Congressional District.
McCready, who appeared to have lost the 9th District to Republican Mark Harris in November, announced Friday that he plans to run in the special election the State Board of Elections ordered Thursday afternoon.
The elections board held four days of hearings this week into allegations of fraud in the 9th District race and determined that McCrae Dowless, a political operative hired by Harris, illegally collected absentee ballots in Bladen County.
Harris testified Thursday in the hearings that a consulting firm hired by his campaign oversaw Dowless' activities and that he was unaware of any illegalities. Yet, he ended his testimony with a statement that the evidence of fraud uncovered by state investigators undermined public confidence in the 9th District results from November and that he agreed a new election was warranted.
The elections board then voted unanimously to order another election in the race. A state law passed in December requires that primaries also be held. No dates for the primaries or the special election have been set.
"The state board sent a message," McCready told supporters at a news conference in Waxhaw, "all across this country and all across the world that we care about our democracy here in North Carolina."
So many voters are disillusioned by what they heard in the elections board's hearings, he said, and he wants to fight the "culture of corruption" in which politicians put themselves before their constituents and their political parties before their country.
"This is so much bigger than one election," he said. "We are in this fight, and we are going to win this fight."
Harris left the hearing Thursday without saying whether he would run in the new election, but in his statement, he mentioned several health problems he's suffered in recent weeks, including two strokes, leading many observers to believe he won't run again.
McCready said Harris will "need to ask for forgiveness from the voters" before he re-enters the race.
Former Congressman Robert Pittenger, whom Harris defeated in the GOP primary last May, declined to say Friday whether he would run again but noted that he is "fully engaged" in hosting Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forums around the world. The forums, which have been held since 2014, were developed to provide better awareness and collaboration with U.S. allies.
Other names bandied about for a Republican primary include former Gov. Pat McCrory, former state Sen. Tommy Tucker of Union County and state Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson. It's unclear whether anyone would challenge a well-funded and already organized McCready in the Democratic primary.
"This [election] needs to happen as soon as possible," McCready said. "Every day that goes by without representation [in the U.S. House] is tragic, and we've got three-quarters of a million people [in the 9th District] that have no voice right now because of fraud and cheating. ... We need to do everything we can to speed up this process and give us a voice in Congress."
There are open questions if new primaries will be held for each party.
Dan McCready jumps back into 9th District race
https://www.wral.com/dan-mccready-jumps-back-into-9th-district-race/18210209/
Democrat Dan McCready wasted no time restarting his campaign after a new election was ordered in the 9th Congressional District.
McCready, who appeared to have lost the 9th District to Republican Mark Harris in November, announced Friday that he plans to run in the special election the State Board of Elections ordered Thursday afternoon.
The elections board held four days of hearings this week into allegations of fraud in the 9th District race and determined that McCrae Dowless, a political operative hired by Harris, illegally collected absentee ballots in Bladen County.
Harris testified Thursday in the hearings that a consulting firm hired by his campaign oversaw Dowless' activities and that he was unaware of any illegalities. Yet, he ended his testimony with a statement that the evidence of fraud uncovered by state investigators undermined public confidence in the 9th District results from November and that he agreed a new election was warranted.
The elections board then voted unanimously to order another election in the race. A state law passed in December requires that primaries also be held. No dates for the primaries or the special election have been set.
"The state board sent a message," McCready told supporters at a news conference in Waxhaw, "all across this country and all across the world that we care about our democracy here in North Carolina."
So many voters are disillusioned by what they heard in the elections board's hearings, he said, and he wants to fight the "culture of corruption" in which politicians put themselves before their constituents and their political parties before their country.
"This is so much bigger than one election," he said. "We are in this fight, and we are going to win this fight."
Harris left the hearing Thursday without saying whether he would run in the new election, but in his statement, he mentioned several health problems he's suffered in recent weeks, including two strokes, leading many observers to believe he won't run again.
McCready said Harris will "need to ask for forgiveness from the voters" before he re-enters the race.
Former Congressman Robert Pittenger, whom Harris defeated in the GOP primary last May, declined to say Friday whether he would run again but noted that he is "fully engaged" in hosting Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forums around the world. The forums, which have been held since 2014, were developed to provide better awareness and collaboration with U.S. allies.
Other names bandied about for a Republican primary include former Gov. Pat McCrory, former state Sen. Tommy Tucker of Union County and state Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson. It's unclear whether anyone would challenge a well-funded and already organized McCready in the Democratic primary.
"This [election] needs to happen as soon as possible," McCready said. "Every day that goes by without representation [in the U.S. House] is tragic, and we've got three-quarters of a million people [in the 9th District] that have no voice right now because of fraud and cheating. ... We need to do everything we can to speed up this process and give us a voice in Congress."
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McCrae Dowless - the political operative at the center of the absentee ballot controversy in the 9th District set up a GoFundMe page...
GoFundMe page seeks defense fund for 9th District operative
https://www.wral.com/gofundme-page-seeks-defense-fund-for-9th-district-operative/18210660/
An online fundraising page, purportedly launched by McCrae Dowless, the political operative at the center of ballot fraud allegations in the 9th Congressional District, says Dowless is the victim of a "political witch hunt" and has some harsh words for the son of Republican candidate Mark Harris.
Dowless was working for Harris in the 2018 congressional race. The writer of the page, which appears to be Dowless, is seeking $100,000 for a "political defense fund." The page was launched Thursday, the day the State Board of Elections voted to call a new election in the district.
"The liberal democrats are attempting to crucify me for helping a republican candidate and have portrayed me in an untrue light," says the writer. "I am a simple man and live in a 1,000 square foot house that is not even payed for. I am 63 years of age, and I receive Social Security."
The author of the page did not immediately respond to a message seeking verification of his identity. GoFundMe also did not immediately respond to a verification request.
The page had been taken offline by Friday evening.
At this week's hearing, state elections investigators showed records that the Harris campaign funneled about $130,000 to Dowless' political operation in Bladen and Robeson counties. The consultant who issued the checks, Andy Yates of Red Dome Group, said he never asked Dowless for receipts or records because he believed Harris did not want him to.
"They are making it look like I got a lot of money, but that is not true," the writer says. "My salary barely covered my gas and expenses, and the majority of the money was paid to other people working for the campaign."
The writer also has harsh words for Mark Harris' son, John Harris. The younger Harris is an assistant U.S. attorney who testified he has no involvement in the state board's pending request for a federal investigation into Dowless.
The younger Harris said he was convinced by absentee ballot data patterns in Bladen County that Dowless had run an illegal ballot harvesting operation in the 2016 9th District primary, which his father narrowly lost to then-Congressman Robert Pittenger. John Harris' testimony directly contradicted Mark Harris' claims that no one had warned him about Dowless.
"An attorney should know not to make accusations without a trial. Where I come from, 29-year-old kids don’t think they know better than their parents just because they have a new fancy law degree, and if they do, they sure don’t say it," the writer says.
"After this testimony, I know he will be pushing for criminal charges to be brought against me because he is ruthless. He brought his God-fearing Baptist father to tears testifying against him. If he will do this to his father, what do you think he will try to do to me?" the writer continues. "Turning on his parents because they did not listen to everything he said was wrong. He got up and left his parents even as his father was crying and leaving for medical treatment."
GoFundMe page seeks defense fund for 9th District operative
https://www.wral.com/gofundme-page-seeks-defense-fund-for-9th-district-operative/18210660/
An online fundraising page, purportedly launched by McCrae Dowless, the political operative at the center of ballot fraud allegations in the 9th Congressional District, says Dowless is the victim of a "political witch hunt" and has some harsh words for the son of Republican candidate Mark Harris.
Dowless was working for Harris in the 2018 congressional race. The writer of the page, which appears to be Dowless, is seeking $100,000 for a "political defense fund." The page was launched Thursday, the day the State Board of Elections voted to call a new election in the district.
"The liberal democrats are attempting to crucify me for helping a republican candidate and have portrayed me in an untrue light," says the writer. "I am a simple man and live in a 1,000 square foot house that is not even payed for. I am 63 years of age, and I receive Social Security."
The author of the page did not immediately respond to a message seeking verification of his identity. GoFundMe also did not immediately respond to a verification request.
The page had been taken offline by Friday evening.
At this week's hearing, state elections investigators showed records that the Harris campaign funneled about $130,000 to Dowless' political operation in Bladen and Robeson counties. The consultant who issued the checks, Andy Yates of Red Dome Group, said he never asked Dowless for receipts or records because he believed Harris did not want him to.
"They are making it look like I got a lot of money, but that is not true," the writer says. "My salary barely covered my gas and expenses, and the majority of the money was paid to other people working for the campaign."
The writer also has harsh words for Mark Harris' son, John Harris. The younger Harris is an assistant U.S. attorney who testified he has no involvement in the state board's pending request for a federal investigation into Dowless.
The younger Harris said he was convinced by absentee ballot data patterns in Bladen County that Dowless had run an illegal ballot harvesting operation in the 2016 9th District primary, which his father narrowly lost to then-Congressman Robert Pittenger. John Harris' testimony directly contradicted Mark Harris' claims that no one had warned him about Dowless.
"An attorney should know not to make accusations without a trial. Where I come from, 29-year-old kids don’t think they know better than their parents just because they have a new fancy law degree, and if they do, they sure don’t say it," the writer says.
"After this testimony, I know he will be pushing for criminal charges to be brought against me because he is ruthless. He brought his God-fearing Baptist father to tears testifying against him. If he will do this to his father, what do you think he will try to do to me?" the writer continues. "Turning on his parents because they did not listen to everything he said was wrong. He got up and left his parents even as his father was crying and leaving for medical treatment."
The latest news from the 9th District controversy came from a number of local media interviews over the weekend including interviews of Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman and other political figures on WRAL "On the Record" and other local media events/coverage.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman stated that charges are likely to be filed against the operatives who illegally collected ballots and organizer Leslie McCrae Dowless in the 9th District election. She said she hopes to present findings from her investigation to a grand jury in the next month.
Her comments citing the premise of direct involvement indicate that charges are unlikely against candidate Mark Harris since he was not involved nor aware of the 2018 scheme. John Harris simply advised his father that he had suspicions about Dowless in the 2016 election and urged his father not to hire him -- which is very different than indicating that Harris had any direct involvement in 2018 ballot harvesting
Two paid Democratic operatives who were part of harvesting over 600 Ballots in Bladen County were due to testify before the state election board on Friday. Fortunately for them the state election board stopped testimony on Thursday; this will likely allow them to evade charges.
Criminal charges possible in 9th district flap
https://abc11.com/politics/criminal...t-flap;-mccready-says-hell-run-again/5152134/
Grand jury to hear findings of investigation into alleged NC ballot scheme, DA says
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article226632669.html
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman stated that charges are likely to be filed against the operatives who illegally collected ballots and organizer Leslie McCrae Dowless in the 9th District election. She said she hopes to present findings from her investigation to a grand jury in the next month.
Her comments citing the premise of direct involvement indicate that charges are unlikely against candidate Mark Harris since he was not involved nor aware of the 2018 scheme. John Harris simply advised his father that he had suspicions about Dowless in the 2016 election and urged his father not to hire him -- which is very different than indicating that Harris had any direct involvement in 2018 ballot harvesting
Two paid Democratic operatives who were part of harvesting over 600 Ballots in Bladen County were due to testify before the state election board on Friday. Fortunately for them the state election board stopped testimony on Thursday; this will likely allow them to evade charges.
Criminal charges possible in 9th district flap
https://abc11.com/politics/criminal...t-flap;-mccready-says-hell-run-again/5152134/
Grand jury to hear findings of investigation into alleged NC ballot scheme, DA says
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article226632669.html
Six unanswered questions in 9th Congressional District investigation
https://www.wral.com/six-unanswered-questions-in-9th-district-investigation/18209975/
We may never know everything that happened in last year's 9th Congressional District election.
Certainly, there is widespread agreement that McCrae Dowless, an operative for Republican Mark Harris' campaign, sent crews door to door, illegally collecting absentee ballots. But it has proven nearly impossible to reconstruct the breadth of that scheme.
Too many people remember too few details from the runup to last year's primary and general elections.
The few people who do know details, including Dowless himself, may eventually have to tell their story in open court.
But with Dowless refusing to testify in State Board of Elections hearings last week, and those hearings wrapping up early after Harris capitulated and called for a new election, key questions remain.
Who knew what in the Harris family?
After Harris' stunning call for a new election and his admission that he'd been "incorrect in my recollection" with some of his previous sworn testimony, a curious piece of evidence was added to the case as the elections board wrapped up its hearings: a text message from Harris' wife, Beth Harris, to her son, John Harris, whose testimony earlier in the week had been so devastating to her husband's case.
Two days before the 2018 Republican primary, she texted to share early vote totals out of Bladen County, which she said came from Dowless. "He says we have 988 of the votes in Bladen." The actual total, once all the counting was done? 889.
What's the deal with the Bladen County Improvement Association?
Dowless is not the only perennial absentee ballot operator in Bladen County. The Bladen County Improvement Association is a well-known PAC working for Democrats in the area, and its name came up several times in the hearings.
Workers from the PAC – though not necessarily at the PAC's direction – were clearly collecting absentee ballot request forms and witnessing ballots en masse. Records show that. But were they taking the next step and collecting ballots as well? The closest WRAL News found on that, in interviews before the hearings, was a single voter who said one of the BCIA's people walked his ballot from his door to his mailbox. But at the hearings, a voter named Precious Hall testified that BCIA operatives Lola Wooten and Sandra Guions collected her completed and sealed ballot. Which is illegal.
Lisa Britt, arguably Dowless' top lieutenant, said Wooten used Dowless' photocopier to copy request forms, almost as if they were divvying up turf in the county. Mark Harris' campaign consultant, Andy Yates, testified that Dowless told him repeatedly that he hated the BCIA. Wooten did not testify and has never responded to WRAL News' messages. Republican elections board member Ken Raymond said at the end of Thursday's proceedings that the BCIA "added to the chaos" in the 9th District. Jeff Carmon, a Democrat on the board, said he wasn't ready to paint with that broad a brush but that BCIA members certainly seemed to have done inappropriate things.
What did Dowless get from local election officials?
No one on the Bladen County Board of Elections or from the board's staff testified in the hearings, which were cut short by Mark Harris' admissions. That includes Cynthia Shaw, who was the county's elections director during the 2018 cycle and went into early retirement soon after the state board ramped up its investigation.
Even after Harris' announcement made a new election all but certain, state board staff made sure to place into evidence a picture of a keyhanging, unprotected, in the Bladen County election office. The key chain says "ballot rm." There were also affidavits, in varying degrees of hearsay, alleging that Shaw had a close relationship with Dowless, knew of some of his absentee ballot operation and may have provided him with information she shouldn't have in the runup to last year's elections. Shaw has repeatedly declined interview requests.
What about Jeff Smith and that handwritten note?
One of the more inscrutable pieces of evidence in this case is a handwritten note. At the top, it says "Picking up Existing Ballots unsealed," and unsealed is underlined twice. Below that are prices, presumably for the numbers of ballots collected.
Dowless' ex-wife, Sandra Dowless, testified that McCrae Dowless told her the note came from Bladen County businessman Jeff Smith and was left behind during a meeting at the Dowless house. Mark Harris testified that Dowless told him that he walked out of that meeting after hearing the plan, but Harris also testified that didn't make much sense after hearing Sandra Dowless say the meeting was at Dowless' home.
Reached Friday by telephone, Smith called the note "a red herring," said he spoke about it with state investigators and said he never ran an absentee ballot collection program. He wouldn't go into detail about the note. There's also a check in evidence, from Mark Harris to McCrae Dowless' now-defunct PAC, Patriots for Progress, that Smith seemed to endorse. He said Friday that's a forged signature and that he hasn't been part of the PAC since 2014.
Smith has previously said in court documents, which McCrae Dowless backed in his own sworn statement, that he paid Dowless cash to work for Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker's campaign in 2014. In a federal lawsuit, Smith's attorneys also said that Dowless had access to "several hundred absentee ballots" that election cycle.
What about Robeson County?
The focus has been on Bladen County, but there were more unreturned absentee ballots last year out of Robeson County, where McCrae Dowless also operated.
There was also testimony at the tail end of Thursday's hearing from the campaign manager for Jack Moody, who lost a Robeson County judicial race last year by 67 votes. Harold Worriax said that, when the box with absentee ballots was opened on Election Day to begin the count, at least 40 or 50 ballot envelopes were already open and looked to have been opened by a letter opener.
Robeson County Board of Elections Chairman Steve Stone said Friday that some may have been open in the box because voters didn't seal them well, but "I don't recall any that would have definitely been suspicious to me." Stone doubted a letter opener had been used, since that would indicate someone in the office opened them early, which they'd have no reason to do.
The state board didn't make a final decision on the Robeson judicial race Thursday, not necessarily because of Worriax's accusations, but because Gov. Roy Cooper has already issued a commission to Vanessa Burton, the Democrat who won the race. There was some question whether the board could call a do-over with that commission already issued, and the plan was to seek more information.
Where did the money go?
More than $130,000 flowed from Charlotte-based Red Dome Group, the consultant for Mark Harris' campaign, to McCrae Dowless. Most, but not all, of that money was from the Harris campaign, as other local campaigns paid less than $18,000 for Dowless' services, Yates, Red Dome's founder, testified last week.
Yates said he never asked Dowless for records, despite an agreement to reimburse costs like rent and to pay $4 to $4.50 for each absentee ballot request Dowless' operation generated. At one point, an attorney for the state board pointed out that, based on checks written to Dowless in 2017 and the number of absentee request forms turned in that year, it looked like the campaign paid Dowless just over $50 a form. Yates struggled to explain the difference, though he said Dowless coordinated other activities for the campaign and noted that Dowless sometimes batched request forms to send in later.
Dowless was paid more than any other contractor on the Harris campaign. He is still owed, Yates testified, another $34,000.
https://www.wral.com/six-unanswered-questions-in-9th-district-investigation/18209975/
We may never know everything that happened in last year's 9th Congressional District election.
Certainly, there is widespread agreement that McCrae Dowless, an operative for Republican Mark Harris' campaign, sent crews door to door, illegally collecting absentee ballots. But it has proven nearly impossible to reconstruct the breadth of that scheme.
Too many people remember too few details from the runup to last year's primary and general elections.
The few people who do know details, including Dowless himself, may eventually have to tell their story in open court.
But with Dowless refusing to testify in State Board of Elections hearings last week, and those hearings wrapping up early after Harris capitulated and called for a new election, key questions remain.
Who knew what in the Harris family?
After Harris' stunning call for a new election and his admission that he'd been "incorrect in my recollection" with some of his previous sworn testimony, a curious piece of evidence was added to the case as the elections board wrapped up its hearings: a text message from Harris' wife, Beth Harris, to her son, John Harris, whose testimony earlier in the week had been so devastating to her husband's case.
Two days before the 2018 Republican primary, she texted to share early vote totals out of Bladen County, which she said came from Dowless. "He says we have 988 of the votes in Bladen." The actual total, once all the counting was done? 889.
What's the deal with the Bladen County Improvement Association?
Dowless is not the only perennial absentee ballot operator in Bladen County. The Bladen County Improvement Association is a well-known PAC working for Democrats in the area, and its name came up several times in the hearings.
Workers from the PAC – though not necessarily at the PAC's direction – were clearly collecting absentee ballot request forms and witnessing ballots en masse. Records show that. But were they taking the next step and collecting ballots as well? The closest WRAL News found on that, in interviews before the hearings, was a single voter who said one of the BCIA's people walked his ballot from his door to his mailbox. But at the hearings, a voter named Precious Hall testified that BCIA operatives Lola Wooten and Sandra Guions collected her completed and sealed ballot. Which is illegal.
Lisa Britt, arguably Dowless' top lieutenant, said Wooten used Dowless' photocopier to copy request forms, almost as if they were divvying up turf in the county. Mark Harris' campaign consultant, Andy Yates, testified that Dowless told him repeatedly that he hated the BCIA. Wooten did not testify and has never responded to WRAL News' messages. Republican elections board member Ken Raymond said at the end of Thursday's proceedings that the BCIA "added to the chaos" in the 9th District. Jeff Carmon, a Democrat on the board, said he wasn't ready to paint with that broad a brush but that BCIA members certainly seemed to have done inappropriate things.
What did Dowless get from local election officials?
No one on the Bladen County Board of Elections or from the board's staff testified in the hearings, which were cut short by Mark Harris' admissions. That includes Cynthia Shaw, who was the county's elections director during the 2018 cycle and went into early retirement soon after the state board ramped up its investigation.
Even after Harris' announcement made a new election all but certain, state board staff made sure to place into evidence a picture of a keyhanging, unprotected, in the Bladen County election office. The key chain says "ballot rm." There were also affidavits, in varying degrees of hearsay, alleging that Shaw had a close relationship with Dowless, knew of some of his absentee ballot operation and may have provided him with information she shouldn't have in the runup to last year's elections. Shaw has repeatedly declined interview requests.
What about Jeff Smith and that handwritten note?
One of the more inscrutable pieces of evidence in this case is a handwritten note. At the top, it says "Picking up Existing Ballots unsealed," and unsealed is underlined twice. Below that are prices, presumably for the numbers of ballots collected.
Dowless' ex-wife, Sandra Dowless, testified that McCrae Dowless told her the note came from Bladen County businessman Jeff Smith and was left behind during a meeting at the Dowless house. Mark Harris testified that Dowless told him that he walked out of that meeting after hearing the plan, but Harris also testified that didn't make much sense after hearing Sandra Dowless say the meeting was at Dowless' home.
Reached Friday by telephone, Smith called the note "a red herring," said he spoke about it with state investigators and said he never ran an absentee ballot collection program. He wouldn't go into detail about the note. There's also a check in evidence, from Mark Harris to McCrae Dowless' now-defunct PAC, Patriots for Progress, that Smith seemed to endorse. He said Friday that's a forged signature and that he hasn't been part of the PAC since 2014.
Smith has previously said in court documents, which McCrae Dowless backed in his own sworn statement, that he paid Dowless cash to work for Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker's campaign in 2014. In a federal lawsuit, Smith's attorneys also said that Dowless had access to "several hundred absentee ballots" that election cycle.
What about Robeson County?
The focus has been on Bladen County, but there were more unreturned absentee ballots last year out of Robeson County, where McCrae Dowless also operated.
There was also testimony at the tail end of Thursday's hearing from the campaign manager for Jack Moody, who lost a Robeson County judicial race last year by 67 votes. Harold Worriax said that, when the box with absentee ballots was opened on Election Day to begin the count, at least 40 or 50 ballot envelopes were already open and looked to have been opened by a letter opener.
Robeson County Board of Elections Chairman Steve Stone said Friday that some may have been open in the box because voters didn't seal them well, but "I don't recall any that would have definitely been suspicious to me." Stone doubted a letter opener had been used, since that would indicate someone in the office opened them early, which they'd have no reason to do.
The state board didn't make a final decision on the Robeson judicial race Thursday, not necessarily because of Worriax's accusations, but because Gov. Roy Cooper has already issued a commission to Vanessa Burton, the Democrat who won the race. There was some question whether the board could call a do-over with that commission already issued, and the plan was to seek more information.
Where did the money go?
More than $130,000 flowed from Charlotte-based Red Dome Group, the consultant for Mark Harris' campaign, to McCrae Dowless. Most, but not all, of that money was from the Harris campaign, as other local campaigns paid less than $18,000 for Dowless' services, Yates, Red Dome's founder, testified last week.
Yates said he never asked Dowless for records, despite an agreement to reimburse costs like rent and to pay $4 to $4.50 for each absentee ballot request Dowless' operation generated. At one point, an attorney for the state board pointed out that, based on checks written to Dowless in 2017 and the number of absentee request forms turned in that year, it looked like the campaign paid Dowless just over $50 a form. Yates struggled to explain the difference, though he said Dowless coordinated other activities for the campaign and noted that Dowless sometimes batched request forms to send in later.
Dowless was paid more than any other contractor on the Harris campaign. He is still owed, Yates testified, another $34,000.
Evidence - 1,500 signed envelopes from accepted absentee ballots and other exhibits made public by the State Board of Elections
https://dl.ncsbe.gov/index.html?prefix=State_Board_Meeting_Docs/Congressional_District_9_Portal/
https://dl.ncsbe.gov/index.html?prefix=State_Board_Meeting_Docs/Congressional_District_9_Portal/
Former Gov. Pat McCrory says he won't seek District 9 seat
https://www.wral.com/former-gov-pat-mccrory-says-he-won-t-seek-district-9-seat/18215932/
On Monday, former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory ruled out a bid for the District 9 seat but announced that he will "keep his options open" for other positions.
McCrory added that his current passion is teaching political sciences classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"I’ve come to a conclusion that I am making a difference right now in educating the public and teaching at UNC but am keeping the option of running for governor or the U.S. Senate," the former governor said around 8:15 a.m.
"I had a dream of being in the U.S. Congress, but my dreams have changed," McCrory said, at one point referencing his age.
In a tweet on Sunday, McCrory said he will share his "personal status" on the election. The announcement was made on his radio show on 1110 WBT AM.
"Much has changed over the past week regarding the 9th congressional district," McCrory wrote. "I have received an enormous number of calls about it from friends, reporters, and political operatives from our state and Washington, D.C."
The 9th district covers an area that stretches from Charlotte to Fayettevile. Last week, the Board of Elections voted to hold a new election, following allegations of election fraud involving the apparent winner, Mark Harris' campaign. On Friday, Democrat Dan McCready, who ran against Harris, said he will run for the seat again
https://www.wral.com/former-gov-pat-mccrory-says-he-won-t-seek-district-9-seat/18215932/
On Monday, former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory ruled out a bid for the District 9 seat but announced that he will "keep his options open" for other positions.
McCrory added that his current passion is teaching political sciences classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"I’ve come to a conclusion that I am making a difference right now in educating the public and teaching at UNC but am keeping the option of running for governor or the U.S. Senate," the former governor said around 8:15 a.m.
"I had a dream of being in the U.S. Congress, but my dreams have changed," McCrory said, at one point referencing his age.
In a tweet on Sunday, McCrory said he will share his "personal status" on the election. The announcement was made on his radio show on 1110 WBT AM.
"Much has changed over the past week regarding the 9th congressional district," McCrory wrote. "I have received an enormous number of calls about it from friends, reporters, and political operatives from our state and Washington, D.C."
The 9th district covers an area that stretches from Charlotte to Fayettevile. Last week, the Board of Elections voted to hold a new election, following allegations of election fraud involving the apparent winner, Mark Harris' campaign. On Friday, Democrat Dan McCready, who ran against Harris, said he will run for the seat again
3 search warrants demand financial, phone records in 9th District probe
https://www.wral.com/3-search-warra...phone-records-in-9th-district-probe/18219614/
Investigators with the State Bureau of Investigation and the Wake County District Attorney's Office have issued three sealed search warrants seeking information related to McCrae Dowless, the man at the center of an election fraud probe that just last week prompted a new race for North Carolina's 9th Congressional District.
Court documents show SBI agents seized financial documents connected to Dowless from the State Employees Credit Union, as well as phone records from his cell service provider. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman confirmed a third warrant seeking records from another financial institution that had not yet been returned and logged at the courthouse.
The existence of two of the search warrants was originally reported Friday by WBTV in Charlotte.
Dowless' activities have been the subject of intense scrutiny by criminal investigators and investigators with the State Board of Elections following absentee ballot irregularities in Robeson and Bladen counties in 2018. Republican Mark Harris hired the veteran political operative for get-out-the-vote efforts in those counties in a bid to represent the 9th District.
Despite Harris' 905-vote lead over his Democratic opponent, state elections officials refused to certify the results. After four days of testimony last week in which Dowless employees admitted to taking possession of voters' absentee ballots – a felony in North Carolina – Harris told the State Board of Elections that he supported a new election. A WRAL News analysis found that people connected with Dowless handled one out of every five absentee ballots in Bladen County.
With the issue of a new election settled, attention has now shifted to the ongoing criminal investigation led by Freeman, who a year ago began looking into allegations of fraud in the 2016 elections. She took the helm after Bladen County's own district attorney, Jon David, recused himself from the probe over past dealings with Dowless and other groups involved in absentee ballot accusations.
Dowless, who refused to testify at the elections board hearing last week, did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday. His lawyer, Cynthia Adams Singletary, was unavailable Tuesday morning. But they've publicly denied that Dowless broke any laws.
Although judges sealed the search warrants and the inventory of records investigators seized, court paperwork shows SBI agents initially sought financial records connected to Dowless on Dec. 5, 2018. That seal was supposed to last for 30 days, but a Wake County judge extended it for another 60.
A separate warrant for phone records filed on Jan. 17 isn't scheduled to become public until mid-April.
Disclosing the details of the search warrants, the judges' orders read, "might hamper or impede this investigation and/or may release information that could adversely affect persons who are not charged with committing a crime."
Freeman said her office may seek to unseal the warrants early, especially now that the State Board of Elections has concluded its hearings into the matter. At the time, she said, she didn't want to unduly influence the board's decision on whether to hold a new election.
"There has been an intentional decision by me not to take any actions that would appear to interfere with what the state board is doing," Freeman said.
She said she does anticipate elections investigators will share their findings with her office and that much of the evidence from the probe of elections in both 2016 and 2018 will go before a grand jury. She said her office is meeting with elections officials this week.
"Considerable work has been done, but considerable work has yet to be done," Freeman said.
https://www.wral.com/3-search-warra...phone-records-in-9th-district-probe/18219614/
Investigators with the State Bureau of Investigation and the Wake County District Attorney's Office have issued three sealed search warrants seeking information related to McCrae Dowless, the man at the center of an election fraud probe that just last week prompted a new race for North Carolina's 9th Congressional District.
Court documents show SBI agents seized financial documents connected to Dowless from the State Employees Credit Union, as well as phone records from his cell service provider. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman confirmed a third warrant seeking records from another financial institution that had not yet been returned and logged at the courthouse.
The existence of two of the search warrants was originally reported Friday by WBTV in Charlotte.
Dowless' activities have been the subject of intense scrutiny by criminal investigators and investigators with the State Board of Elections following absentee ballot irregularities in Robeson and Bladen counties in 2018. Republican Mark Harris hired the veteran political operative for get-out-the-vote efforts in those counties in a bid to represent the 9th District.
Despite Harris' 905-vote lead over his Democratic opponent, state elections officials refused to certify the results. After four days of testimony last week in which Dowless employees admitted to taking possession of voters' absentee ballots – a felony in North Carolina – Harris told the State Board of Elections that he supported a new election. A WRAL News analysis found that people connected with Dowless handled one out of every five absentee ballots in Bladen County.
With the issue of a new election settled, attention has now shifted to the ongoing criminal investigation led by Freeman, who a year ago began looking into allegations of fraud in the 2016 elections. She took the helm after Bladen County's own district attorney, Jon David, recused himself from the probe over past dealings with Dowless and other groups involved in absentee ballot accusations.
Dowless, who refused to testify at the elections board hearing last week, did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday. His lawyer, Cynthia Adams Singletary, was unavailable Tuesday morning. But they've publicly denied that Dowless broke any laws.
Although judges sealed the search warrants and the inventory of records investigators seized, court paperwork shows SBI agents initially sought financial records connected to Dowless on Dec. 5, 2018. That seal was supposed to last for 30 days, but a Wake County judge extended it for another 60.
A separate warrant for phone records filed on Jan. 17 isn't scheduled to become public until mid-April.
Disclosing the details of the search warrants, the judges' orders read, "might hamper or impede this investigation and/or may release information that could adversely affect persons who are not charged with committing a crime."
Freeman said her office may seek to unseal the warrants early, especially now that the State Board of Elections has concluded its hearings into the matter. At the time, she said, she didn't want to unduly influence the board's decision on whether to hold a new election.
"There has been an intentional decision by me not to take any actions that would appear to interfere with what the state board is doing," Freeman said.
She said she does anticipate elections investigators will share their findings with her office and that much of the evidence from the probe of elections in both 2016 and 2018 will go before a grand jury. She said her office is meeting with elections officials this week.
"Considerable work has been done, but considerable work has yet to be done," Freeman said.
Mark Harris announces he won't run in new 9th district election
https://abc11.com/politics/mark-harris-announces-he-wont-run-in-new-9th-district-election/5158014/
Mark Harris announced Tuesday that he will not run in the new election for North Carolina's Ninth Congressional District.
Harris was the top vote-getter, edging Democrat Dan McCready in November's election, but never took office after allegations of ballot fraud surfaced.
"Given my health situation, the need to regain full strength, and the timing of this surgery the last week of March, I have decided not to file in the new election for Congressional District 9," Harris said Tuesday. "While few things in my life have brought me more joy than getting to meet and know the people of this incredible part of North Carolina, and while I have been overwhelmed by the honor of their support for me as the Congressman-elect of NC-9, I owe it to Beth, my children and my six grandchildren to make the wisest decision for my health. I also owe it to the citizens of the Ninth District to have someone at full strength during the new campaign. It is my hope that in the upcoming primary, a solid conservative leader will emerge to articulate the critical issues that face our nation.
Note: Video is from a previous story and will be updated.
Harris also said he was endorsing Union County Commissioner Stony Rushing as a candidate for the seat.
"Stony, from my observation, along with his wife Anne-Marie, have served Union County effectively through the years," Harris said. "His background and his experience have proven him to stand firm on so many of the issues that concern us, including the issue of life, our national security, and religious freedom. I hope that those who have stood with me will strongly consider getting behind Stony Rushing."
McCready has announced that he will again run for the 9th district office.
Meanwhile, North Carolina criminal investigators are seeking phone and bank records as they dig into ballot fraud allegations that forced an election re-do in the country's last undetermined congressional seat.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Tuesday the search warrants and what agents collected remain sealed from the public.
Court clerks records show the State Bureau of Investigation collected financial records for an unidentified suspect in December and sought phone records last month. Judges both times agreed the name of the suspect and details of the Bladen County case should be kept secret.
The state elections board last week ordered a new election in the state's 9th congressional district after hearing evidence that a political operative working for Harris may have illegally collected mail-in ballots.
Harris led McCready by just 905 votes. But the state refused to certify the outcome.
The State Board of Elections has not yet set a date for the do-over election.
https://abc11.com/politics/mark-harris-announces-he-wont-run-in-new-9th-district-election/5158014/
Mark Harris announced Tuesday that he will not run in the new election for North Carolina's Ninth Congressional District.
Harris was the top vote-getter, edging Democrat Dan McCready in November's election, but never took office after allegations of ballot fraud surfaced.
"Given my health situation, the need to regain full strength, and the timing of this surgery the last week of March, I have decided not to file in the new election for Congressional District 9," Harris said Tuesday. "While few things in my life have brought me more joy than getting to meet and know the people of this incredible part of North Carolina, and while I have been overwhelmed by the honor of their support for me as the Congressman-elect of NC-9, I owe it to Beth, my children and my six grandchildren to make the wisest decision for my health. I also owe it to the citizens of the Ninth District to have someone at full strength during the new campaign. It is my hope that in the upcoming primary, a solid conservative leader will emerge to articulate the critical issues that face our nation.
Note: Video is from a previous story and will be updated.
Harris also said he was endorsing Union County Commissioner Stony Rushing as a candidate for the seat.
"Stony, from my observation, along with his wife Anne-Marie, have served Union County effectively through the years," Harris said. "His background and his experience have proven him to stand firm on so many of the issues that concern us, including the issue of life, our national security, and religious freedom. I hope that those who have stood with me will strongly consider getting behind Stony Rushing."
McCready has announced that he will again run for the 9th district office.
Meanwhile, North Carolina criminal investigators are seeking phone and bank records as they dig into ballot fraud allegations that forced an election re-do in the country's last undetermined congressional seat.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Tuesday the search warrants and what agents collected remain sealed from the public.
Court clerks records show the State Bureau of Investigation collected financial records for an unidentified suspect in December and sought phone records last month. Judges both times agreed the name of the suspect and details of the Bladen County case should be kept secret.
The state elections board last week ordered a new election in the state's 9th congressional district after hearing evidence that a political operative working for Harris may have illegally collected mail-in ballots.
Harris led McCready by just 905 votes. But the state refused to certify the outcome.
The State Board of Elections has not yet set a date for the do-over election.