Leslie McCrae Dowless, the central figure in the election fraud investigation that led to a re-do of the 2018 congressional race in North Carolina’s 9th district, has been indicted on new charges related to his political activity.
Candidates across the Cape Fear region are preparing for the upcoming primary election in March, but it turns out that it is possible to start campaigning too early.
Just six votes separate candidates in two different municipal elections in New Hanover County as of Election Night, but that is likely to change Friday morning.
The N.C. State Board of Elections is investigating two cases of alleged double voting in Bladen County during the recent special election in the 9th Congressional District.
Republican State Senator Dan Bishop is the unofficial winner of the election for North Carolina’s 9th congressional district, according to the Associated Press.
More than nine months after the North Carolina State Board of Elections refused to certify the results of the election in the state’s 9th congressional district, voters are headed back to the polls Tuesday.
While Southeastern North Carolina waits for the forecast of Hurricane Dorian to narrow, the North Carolina State Board of Elections is encouraging voters to go ahead and cast their ballots.
Calvin Norton has sued local officials so many times in lawsuits deemed “frivolous” by a judge, that he has effectively had his right to sue in state court revoked. But that hasn’t stopped the Columbus County man.
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.
