Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the newly elected Democratic caucus chairman, on Tuesday said it “appears increasingly likely” that Republican operatives in North Carolina stole a House seat through election fraud.
“Crickets from the Trump Administration,” Jeffries said in a tweet. “So here’s a thought: LOCK THEM UP.”
Jeffries was referring to allegations of voter fraud in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, where Republican Mark Harris has a narrow lead over Democrat Dan McCready.
{mosads}Harris last month declared victory in the race, but the North Carolina State Board of Elections has declined to certify the results amid allegations of voter fraud.
A number of voters have come forward since Election Day with claims that their absentee ballots were illegally collected, and it remains unclear if their votes were counted. One woman on Monday claimed to have been paid to collect ballots by a Republican operative.
The woman, Ginger Eason, told a local television station that she collected those ballots and, rather than mailing them in, gave them to an election supervisor who is at the center of the fraud allegations.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the next House majority leader, said Tuesday that Democrats will not seat Harris until the allegations of election fraud are resolved.