Evidence in contested congressional race gets airing Feb. 18

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina’s new elections board will hear evidence later this month about alleged ballot fraud as it seeks to resolve the nation’s last unsettled congressional race.

The five-member State Board of Elections, created last week, said Monday it will hold the Feb. 18 public hearing to weigh evidence collected by investigators and arguments from representatives of Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready. The hearing could last two days.

The new board could declare a winner or order a new 9th District election.

Harris narrowly led McCready after November’s election. The previous elections board refused to declare the Republican a winner until investigators could look into allegations that mail-in ballots in Bladen County could have been altered or discarded by a Harris subcontractor. A court declared the previous board unconstitutional.