NCGOP Says Evidence Warrants A New Election In NC's 9th CD

WUNC News | By Rusty Jacobs

Published December 11, 2018 at 2:13 PM EST

File photo of NC GOP Chair Dallas Woodhouse, who said he wants the state election board to fully lay out the facts in its investigation of the 9th Congressional District race.

File photo of NC GOP Chair Dallas Woodhouse.

The North Carolina Republican Party's executive director has seen enough to warrant a new election in the 9th Congressional District.

The state elections board has released a document showing Bladen County officials leaked early voting results in the 9th prior to Election Day, a violation of state law.

"It would represent a fundamental unfairness in our election system," said North Carolina GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse, in a telephone interview with WUNC.

In the 9th, Republican Mark Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes in final, uncertified results. The state elections board has refused to certify the outcome pending an investigation into possible absentee vote tampering in Bladen and Robeson counties.

Woodhouse said if there's a new election, state, not local, officials should take control in Bladen County.

The state elections board said it would hold a public hearing on voting irregularities in the 9th by December 21.