Dem candidate: New NC election a ‘great step forward for democracy’

Dan McCready, the Democratic candidate in a contested North Carolina House race, on Thursday praised the North Carolina State Board of Elections’ (NCSBE) decision to call a new election in light of allegations of ballot fraud by members of the Republican candidate’s campaign.

“From the moment the first vote was stolen in North Carolina, from the moment the first voice was silenced by election fraud, the people have deserved justice. Today was a great step forward for democracy in North Carolina,” McCready tweeted. 

From the moment the first vote was stolen in North Carolina, from the moment the first voice was silenced by election fraud, the people have deserved justice. Today was a great step forward for democracy in North Carolina. #nc09 #ncpol

— Dan McCready for NC (@McCreadyForNC) February 21, 2019

The NCSBE’s announcement came after Republican candidate Mark Harris called for a new election to be held, suggesting that the ballot fraud allegations threw the November results into question.

{mosads}Initial tallies showed Harris defeating McCready by 905 votes, but state officials refused to certify the results after accusations of ballot harvesting began to bubble up across North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.

Witnesses testified this week detailing the alleged efforts of Leslie McCrae Dowless, a political operative hired by Harris’s campaign, to pay workers to pick up absentee ballots from voters in rural areas. North Carolina law stipulates that only a voter or a close relative can hand in or mail an absentee ballot. 

While Republicans had initially claimed there were not enough affected ballots to alter the outcome, the state party changed its tune this week. Democrats had been clamoring for months for a new election. 

“North Carolina Republicans, following Mark Harris’ lead, repeatedly lied to the people of the Ninth district, silenced their voices, and undermined our state’s faith in our democracy. This saga could have only ended in a new election, and we look forward to repairing the harm dealt by Republicans and giving the people of the Ninth district the representative they deserve,” North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin said in a statement.

NEW: North Carolina Democratic Party: “This saga could only have ended in a new election, and we look forward to repairing the harm dealt by Republicans and giving the people of the Ninth district the representative they deserve.” https://t.co/Tba9sQ7IOS pic.twitter.com/sibzdLDXch

— ABC News (@ABC) February 21, 2019