NC house race not certified/investigation

[aurora]

Did I miss a thread on this? Statistical anomaly in two counties in NC led the board not to certify the results that showed a narrow R win, and I'm fact they may also look back to the 2016 election.

As Bitzer noted in his analysis, Harris would have had to win every registered Republican, along with nearly every unaffiliated voter and some registered Democrats, to reach that total, which seems implausible. In other counties, McCready’s margin in absentee-by-mail ballots tracked closely with the percentage of absentee-by-mail ballots cast by registered Democrats.

(Harris is the R who nominally won.)

fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-the-heck-is-happening-in-that-north-carolina-house-race/amp/

[aurora]

Here's another link for those of you who still boycott Nate Silver:

www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/nc-election-officials-plan-hearing-over-fraud-concerns-in-us-house-race-raising-possibility-of-new-election/2018/11/30/d1fc0450-f4b7-11e8-aeea-b85fd44449f5_story.html

[bowies]

I read about that today. Supposedly there’s been rampant corruption of the vote for a while. The stories of random people coming around to collect absentee ballots...crazy. There’s literally no way Harris or the GOP in that district weren’t running that operation.

[curbsideprophet]

I had heard they did not certify the race but had not heard too many details. Thanks for the links, I will read them tomorrow.

[aurora]

This looks like a local source fo that found a woman who admitted to going around collecting ballots:

amp.wsoctv.com/news/local/channel-9-uncovers-similarities-between-absentee-ballots-in-us-house-district-9-race/882660808

This can't be certified by any body who wants to claim the tiniest belief in democracy.

[aurora]

A more national perspective:

[lolo]

Dec 3, 2018 19:32:43 GMT -5 aurora said:

This looks like a local source fo that found a woman who admitted to going around collecting ballots:

amp.wsoctv.com/news/local/channel-9-uncovers-similarities-between-absentee-ballots-in-us-house-district-9-race/882660808

This can't be certified by any body who wants to claim the tiniest belief in democracy.

Wow.

I'm grateful to the journalists investigating this.

[aurora]

Also this tweet from Nate Silver mocking the NYT election needle made me laugh:

[bowies]

The cherry on the shit sundae - the candidate is a fundie pastor. Pretty sure Jesus isn’t down with committing felonies to steal elections but we all know it ain’t about the Bible for these folks.

There were shenanigans in the House race here too - junior league compared to this but also against the law. I highly doubt anyone will go to jail for it since they managed to maintain a sliver of plausible deniability but that entire NC operation will hopefully get what is deserved. I think this stuff will become a lot more commonplace as heretofore “safe” R places start to become less of a sure thing. They can’t win on ideas and gerrymandering isn’t forever.

[bowies]

Dec 3, 2018 19:32:43 GMT -5 aurora said:

This looks like a local source fo that found a woman who admitted to going around collecting ballots:

amp.wsoctv.com/news/local/channel-9-uncovers-similarities-between-absentee-ballots-in-us-house-district-9-race/882660808

This can't be certified by any body who wants to claim the tiniest belief in democracy.

She needs to take her $100 and go hire a lawyer. Jesus.

[CrazyLucky]

This is kind of big news at work, since I work in Bladen County. It's shady as hell. It's just more reason to be angry that the Republicans try to claim that they are the Christian party. If you're Christian, don't cheat and steal to win! That's one of the big ten rules! Mark Harris is disgusting.

[miniroller]

Who is McCrae Dowless, man who appears to be center of 9th District investigation?
www.wsoctv.com/news/local/man-in-center-of-voter-fraud-investigation-in-nc-district-9-race-has-criminal-past/882190369

[btdt]

Dec 4, 2018 10:02:12 GMT -5 miniroller said:

Who is McCrae Dowless, man who appears to be center of 9th District investigation?
www.wsoctv.com/news/local/man-in-center-of-voter-fraud-investigation-in-nc-district-9-race-has-criminal-past/882190369

I wish the media would label this correctly. This is not voter fraud; it's election fraud.

[bowies]

Oh man, the sheriff hired Dowless too. Awkward!

[miniroller]

A great Tw thread to help explain the history of the religious right & underscores the importance of noting the man behind all of this very un-Jesus-like behavior is a pastor:

Anyone who has studied, understood, or been victimized by the politics of the Southern Baptist Convention is not surprised by what Rev Mark Harris' campaign is accused of doing. In Harris' world, anything is permissible if it achieves the end of winning for "Jesus."
Thread Unrolled for easy reading:
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1069978037150801921.html

[ESF]

The GOP is filled with crooks from top to bottom.

I am calling it now. If this guy doesn't go to prison, then in a few election cycles, the GOP will be nominating this guy for a judgeship or a US Attorney position or some other job rewarding him.

There are bad apples in the Democratic party, and sometimes they stick around a little too long for my taste, but it doesn't have the same culture of corruption that the GOP has. Even if you believe the conservative spin on the IRS and Tea Party scandal, or Solyndra, or any of their other wingnut fantasties, there isn't a Democrat at any level who would appoint Lois Lerner or the Solyndra CEO to a prestigious job.

This guy is probably their future leader of the house.

[bowies]

Well that Dowless dude recruited his family members to perform the election fraud too so that’ll be a fun Christmas.

[mouse]

Dec 4, 2018 12:55:30 GMT -5 miniroller said:

A great Tw thread to help explain the history of the religios right & underscores the importance of noting the man behind all of this very un-Jesus-like behavior is a pastor:

Anyone who has studied, understood, or been victimized by the politics of the Southern Baptist Convention is not surprised by what Rev Mark Harris' campaign is accused of doing. In Harris' world, anything is permissible if it achieves the end of winning for "Jesus."
Thread Unrolled for easy reading:
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1069978037150801921.html

For those who don't know her, Diana Butler Bass is a pretty well-regarded historian/religious researcher.

[curbsideprophet]

Another woman who collect ballots for $100.

[curbsideprophet]

I do not see how they can certify the election as is. I also do not understand how you could let Harris run again.


Inside The North Carolina Republican Vote Machine: Cash, Pills — And Ballots

BLADENBORO, North Carolina — The allegations that Republicans tampered with absentee ballots in a close North Carolina election represent the most serious federal election tampering case in years, one that allegedly stole votes from elderly black voters in the state’s rural south.

Now two women intimately involved with McCrae Dowless’s absentee ballot machine have revealed to BuzzFeed News its grim and chaotic workings, in which Dowless tracked votes on yellow paper and paid his workers, including family members, from stacks of cash, which some used to keep themselves high on opioids while they worked.

The accounts of the women, Jessica Karen Dowless and Lisa Britt, add significant new details to those that have come out from investigators and other news reports, as the state election board considers whether it should order a new election between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready. The women, both related to McCrae Dowless, paint a picture of American political chicanery at its lowest levels — though with sweeping consequences both for voters allegedly denied the franchise, and for the outcome of a pivotal national election, which Republican Mark Harris won by 905 votes.


www.buzzfeednews.com/article/briannasacks/dowless-britt-inside-north-carolina-absentee-ballot-machine

[curbsideprophet]

McCready has rescinded his concession

[orval]

There seems to be shenanigans on both sides. Our local Charlotte tv station has a story on it.

www.wbtv.com/2018/12/07/documents-show-bladen-co-pac-employees-witnessed-more-than-absentee-ballots/