Mark Harris won't face state charges in NC 9th District ballot fraud case

RALEIGH — Former congressional candidate Mark Harris will not face state criminal charges in the ballot-fraud case that led to a redo of the 9th district general election in 2018, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Wednesday.

“Following more than a year of investigation by multiple State and Federal agencies into the involvement of former Congressional candidate Mark Harris and the Harris Campaign into the absentee ballot operations in Bladen County during the 2018 General Election, our office has concluded that there is not evidence which would support a criminal case against Dr. Harris and therefore, is closing the matter as to him,” Freeman said in a news release.

“Charges against multiple individuals including Mr. McCrae Dowless who was hired by the Harris campaign remain pending and investigators continue probing other areas of evidence.”

Republican Harris had hired Dowless, a longtime Bladen County political operative, to handle absentee ballot gathering, and had appeared to win the seat by a narrow margin over Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes. But the State Board of Elections refused to certify the election after receiving information that Dowless had manipulated absentee ballots.

Read more: https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20200715/mark-harris-wont-face-state-charges-in-nc-9th-district-ballot-fraud-case
(Fayettesville Observer)