Attorneys challenging the outcome of the November election for Columbus County sheriff filed a notice of appeal Friday with the North Carolina State Board of Elections. They also plan to file a complaint and a Motion for a Stay of certification with Wake County Superior Court.
Republicans in North Carolina have chosen state Sen. Dan Bishop as their party’s nominee in a special congressional election ordered after a ballot fraud scandal marred last year’s race.
Ten Republican candidates for the NC-9 Congressional faced off in a primary election Tuesday, with Dan Bishop declared the winner of the Republican primary.
Six months after the 2018 midterms appeared to be over, Bladen County voters — along with the rest of the 9th congressional district — have taken to the polls once again.
More changes are happening in the wake of the elections fraud investigation in Bladen County. Effective Thursday, the Veterans Services office in Bladen County has been relocated, and will no longer share office space with the Bladen County Board of Election’s Office.
Just shy of five months after the North Carolina State Board of Elections refused to certify three races — Bladen County Commission District 3, Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor and North Carolina’s 9th congressional seat — voters are again taking to the polls.
“It is Mr. Campbell’s position that, due to the N.C. State Board of Elections position that Mr. Green’s [sic] election was never certified, Mr. Green was without legal or actual authority to either demote or terminate Mr. Campbell.”
Nearly five months after Election Day, the Columbus County Board of Elections is considering an election protest in the race between Jody Greene and Lewis Hatcher.
With a little more than six weeks until a special primary election, North Carolina’s 9th congressional district is back where it all began: absentee voting.
In the midst of unprecedented confusion in Columbus County over who should be serving as sheriff, some deputies have been terminated from their job. While North Carolina law generally gives sheriffs broad latitude to fire at will, pending legal challenges bring the recent firings under scrutiny.
The board was required by the North Carolina State Board of Elections to hold a hearing into the election protest of Gloria Smith and report back findings by April 5.
In order to accomplish that, the NCSBE declined to appoint a full slate of members to the Bladen County Board of Elections because several nominees have served in the role.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections will meet by phone Thursday to consider remanding part of the issues detailed in a protest appeal back to the Columbus County.
After election fraud put the national spotlight on Southeastern North Carolina, WECT Investigates took a look at how other Cape Fear area counties fared in 2018.
Months before his absentee activities would make national headlines, Leslie McCrae Dowless was being followed by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
Newly-surfaced documents show how Leslie McCrae Dowless, the man indicted for election fraud in Bladen County, was also active in neighboring Columbus County.
The criminal and civil matters have stretched on for years, and the disagreement between a Dublin town commissioner and the Bladen County Sheriff came up during the state's election fraud investigation. But now, at least one chapter is closed.
The roughly 788,000 people of North Carolina’s 9th congressional district will soon have a date to mark on their calendars for the special election for the seat.
McCrae Dowless has been indicted on seven charges in connection to an investigation into absentee ballot irregularities in the NC District 9 general election.
The races for Bladen County Commission District 3, Bladen County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor and U.S. House of Representatives District 9 will now be re-run. The NCSBE is expected to vote on a schedule in the coming weeks.
Harris, who was the unofficial winner of the 9th District election in November, made the announcement just days after a four-day hearing into alleged election fraud held by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
The hearing into election fraud in parts of North Carolina’s 9th congressional district might be over — but the work in Bladen County is just beginning.
Documents unearthed through a subpoena appear to show contradictory information about when Columbus County Sheriff candidate Jody Greene lived in that county. Greene's residency is the subject of an ongoing challenge to his legal eligibility to serve as sheriff.
The state board voted 5-0 to hold a new election for the 9th Congressional district seat, Bladen County Commission District 3, and Bladen County’s Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor. The board did not set a schedule for when the election would happen.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections’ hearing drags on with no end in sight as new information emerges about exactly who was suspicious of the absentee ballot activity in Bladen County, and when they became aware.
An evidentiary hearing is underway at the North Carolina State Bar as the state board of elections weeds through the results of its election fraud investigation.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections will take up the query into alleged fraud in the state’s 9th district and beyond on Monday, Feb. 18, but the road to the Raleigh hearing has been long and winding.
On Tuesday, Feb. 12, parties on both sides of the aisle submitted their final argument briefs for consideration, as well as a list of witnesses attorneys intend to call.
Email from State Board of Elections attorney Joshua Lawson to Columbus County attorney Amanda Prince raises questions about the Columbus County Board of Elections' handling of a protest filed in the sheriff’s race.
Attorneys released a joint statement late Thursday night from Lewis Hatcher and Jody Greene. They've reached an agreement that results in Hatcher dismissing his lawsuit and Greene stepping aside as acting sheriff while state elections officials resolve pending elections protests.
The legal team for Republican Mark Harris wants several key players in the investigation into alleged election fraud in Bladen County and beyond to appear in person at the hearing scheduled for Feb. 18.
More than two months after originally putting the certification of North Carolina’s 9th congressional district race on hold, there is finally a date-certain for learning an outcome.
Acting Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene has posted a $25,000 bond to keep his seat as sheriff, for now. Wake County Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley ordered Greene to pay that bond as part of an ongoing legal dispute over who is the rightful sheriff of Columbus County.
Attorneys for Lewis Hatcher have filed documents requesting detailed financial information, property records, and personnel records for Jody Greene in their attempt to prove Hatcher should still be serving as Columbus County sheriff.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway will consider a petition from Republican Mark Harris for a Writ of Mandamus, a request asking the court to force the North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement to certify him as the winner of the contest.
Voters and leaders of advocacy groups from across North Carolina gathered in Raleigh on Friday to express their frustration with the delays in the election fraud investigation.
The Chairman of the Bladen County Board of Elections filed a new affidavit, made public for the first time Friday, that said staff at the county board of elections found three absentee ballot request forms submitted in the 2018 general election that had been forged.
Experts in North Carolina’s political landscape and election law say no matter which path the investigation goes down, the process will likely take months.
Supporters for Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene and former Sheriff Lewis Hatcher packed the Dempsey B. Herring Courthouse Annex on Monday night for the first county commissioners meeting since questions were raised about the legitimacy of Greene’s win in the November general election.
Taking matters into his own hands, former Columbus County Sheriff Lewis Hatcher on Friday filed an injunction requesting a judge revoke the recently elected sheriff’s powers and allow him to resume the role of the top law enforcement officer in the county.
On Nov. 30, the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 7-2 to not certify Harris, who unofficially leads the race for the seat against Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes, as the winner of the contest.
The campaign of Republican Mark Harris said he plans to file a legal challenge on Thursday that will ask a court to order he immediately be certified as the winner of the 9th Congressional District election.
In a formal statement a day after a brief announcement, Pittenger said he will not run in any new primary that may result from the election fraud investigation underway in the district.
With less than 90 minutes to go before the North Carolina State Board of Elections is set to dissolve, both Governor Roy Cooper and Republican Mark Harris released their solutions to the problem.
With just five days to go before the new North Carolina General Assembly is sworn in, republican legislators are preparing to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of House Bill 1029.
As state investigators continue digging into the irregularities with absentee by mail ballots in Bladen, Robeson and Columbus County, the involved parties are turning over affidavits and other documents.
On Election Day, Greene led Hatcher by 34 votes, and after a recount, by 37 votes. However, multiple protests were filed with the county elections office in regard to Greene’s campaign.
A key figure in the ongoing investigation into voting irregularities in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District has refused an interview with investigators with the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections released a lengthy report Wednesday on findings that could influence the investigation into election fraud in Bladen County.
Democracy North Carolina, Progress North Carolina Action, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, NC NAACP, NC Black Alliance, and Blueprint NC are hosting a town hall meeting Tuesday in Bladenboro.
The lawyer for a man who has come to be a central figure in the ongoing scrutiny over potential voting irregularities in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District has issued a statement on her client’s behalf.
North Carolina’s governor says he’s vetoing legislation directing new elections if fraud is found in a disputed U.S. House race because the hastily approved bill also adds new cover for lobbyists and people who violate campaign finance laws.
These candidates, whose constituencies cover Bladen County, Columbus County, Pender County, Brunswick County and New Hanover County, all listed Dowless, Red Dome, Politico Management Services or Patriots for Progress on their official campaign finance reports.
