There are now reports that alleged election fraud in the 9th District Congressional race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready went beyond harvesting.
According to the New York Times, Kirby Wright, 47, and his mother Doris Lee Hammonds, 77, said a woman came to their home to pick up their absentee ballots. Wright told her he intended to throw his ballot away and, he says, she told him she needed to pick up all the empty ballots. Hammond told the newspaper she never filled her ballot out, nor signed it. State records show Hammond’s ballot was returned.
In another instance, the New York Times reports Jeneva Legions in Bladen County gave her signed, unsealed ballot to a woman who came to her door asking for it. She said she thought she worked for the county. Her ballot, records show, was never returned to election officials.
The state elections board has declined to certify Harris the winner, as the board continues its investigation. In unofficial results, Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes. McCready officially withdrew his concession last Thursday. On Friday, the state identified political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless as a person of interest in its investigation.
The board is investigating whether Dowless harvested "ballots," or picked up finished absentee ballots, which is illegal. He worked for the Red Dome Group in Cornelius, which had been hired by Harris’ campaign.
