Incoming Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Democrats would oppose seating North Carolina Republican Mark Harris next year unless an ongoing election fraud investigation in the district is concluded.
Harris beat Democrat Dan McCready in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District on election night, but the state board of elections voted not to certify the results. Harris won by less than half a percentage point in the race. The controversy primarily surrounds two counties — Bladen and Robeson counties — where a significant number of absentee ballots were unreturned or improperly collected and filled in.
Hoyer, D-Md., current minority whip, said on Tuesday the issue needs to be resolved before Harris is seated.
“If there is what appears to be a very substantial question on the integrity of the election, clearly we would oppose Mr. Harris’ being seated until that is resolved,” Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. “It ought to be resolved before we seat any member, he has not been certified yet.”
“At this point in time he is not eligible for being sworn into the House, and I would hope that the North Carolina officials get to the bottom of this controversy as to whether or not people were filling out people’s [absentee] ballots and collecting them and sending them in,” Hoyer added.
Hoyer plans to discuss the issue with California Democrat Zoe Lofgren, who is expected to head the House Administration Committee in January. The panel has the power to investigate the North Carolina election. If Democrats think North Carolina officials failed to properly investigate the absentee ballot irregularities, the administration committee could call for another election and refuse to seat Harris, even if his victory is ultimately certified.
It’s unclear how many ballots were collected by possible partisan operatives and thrown out, or if the number of ballots impacted could change the result of the election. There could be as many as 3,400 absentee ballots unreturned in the counties in question, according to a New York Times report.
