NC candidate admits he owes 34K to the man at the center of fraud scandal
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https://www.businessinsider.com/north-carolina-gop-candidate-owes-34000-to-operative-accused-of-fraud-2018-12?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=reddit.com
Mark Harris, the Republican candidate for the House seat in North Carolina's 9th congressional district, revealed on Thursday night that his campaign owed over $34,000 to a political
operative who's been accused of illegally collecting absentee ballots from voters and only sending in those in favor of Harris.
The operative, Leslie McCrae Dowless, was contracted by Red Dome Group, a Charlotte-based consulting group that Harris' campaign hired to help turnout voters in rural Bladen
County.
The debt was reported in a Federal Election Commission filing, which described the payment for "reimbursement payment for Bladen absentee, early voting poll workers;
reimbursement door to door," first reported on by The New York Times on Friday. Dowless, court records show, is a convicted felon who has faced jail time for fraud and perjury. He has
denied any wrongdoing in this election cycle.
North Carolina's Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement refused to certify Harris' 904-vote win over Democrat Dan McCready, who withdrew his concession on Thursday. Dallas
Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, said he would be open to holding a new election as the reports of voter fraud in Bladen County continue to
mount.
Several district residents have described having their absentee ballots collected, also known as "ballot harvesting," which is illegal in North Carolina. Speaking to local news station
WSOC 9, a Charlotte ABC affiliate, Cheryl Kinlaw, a woman who said she was paid $100 to pick up the ballots, said she didn't think this was illegal because Dowless "has been doing it
for years." "I feel bad now that I know that it wasn't legal, but I didn't know at the time," she said.
On Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned that the House could refuse to seat Harris if his victory is approved by the state Board.
Cheryl Kinlaw, a woman who said she was paid $100 to pick up the ballots, said she didn't think this was illegal because Dowless "has been doing it
for years."
its almost like not looking beyond the 30 pieces of silver you got is unsafe.
