N.C. GOP leader open to new election in disputed district

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C. — The executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party said Thursday that a new election may be appropriate in the state’s 9th Congressional District, where fraud allegations have cast doubts on the accuracy of the vote count.

If the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement can state “there was a substantial likelihood that the race could have been altered, then we would not oppose a new election,” said the executive director, Dallas Woodhouse.

The inquiry into the race led Democrats and Republicans in Raleigh and Washington to weigh Thursday how best to navigate the legal and political challenges of the disputed vote, and their calculations could shift again before the state elections board holds an evidentiary hearing by Dec. 21.

State investigators have issued subpoenas and begun sifting through records to determine whether absentee-ballot fraud gave an advantage to Mark Harris, the Republican nominee in the 9th District. Preliminary returns, which state officials have refused to certify, showed Mr. Harris with a 905-vote lead over his Democratic opponent, Dan McCready.

But the validity of Mr. Harris’ margin has been called into question in recent days as witnesses have repeatedly described a voter-turnout operation that appeared to rely on at least one seemingly illegal tactic: collecting absentee ballots directly from voters. The operation led to mounting concerns over whether ballots had been improperly marked for Mr. Harris or discarded if they were to be cast for Mr. McCready.

Under state law, the panel, which includes four Democrats, four Republicans and one unaffiliated member, may order a new election if it finds that “irregularities or improprieties occurred to such an extent that they taint the results of the entire election and cast doubt on its fairness.”

Democrats have warned that if the allegations about Mr. Harris’ campaign are not sufficiently resolved, they would be reluctant to allow him to be seated in January.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democrats’ nominee for House speaker, reasserted Thursday that the House would have the final say on who is seated and whether to investigate the election itself.