Republican candidate Mark Harris filed a lawsuit Thursday asking a state judge to certify the election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, which would send Mr. Harris to Washington and resolve the last disputed race of 2018.
The legal move came the same day the 116th Congress is sworn in with a new Democratic majority and without a representative from the 9th District.
The results remain in limbo after the State Election Board refused to certify Nov. 6 results that showed Mr. Harris beating Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes out of more than 280,000 cast.
The results are muddied by alleged illegal collection of absentee ballots linked to the Harris campaign. An investigation is underway.
Adding to the turmoil, the Election Board dissolved Friday under a state court order.
As House members prepared to take the oath of office, Mr. Harris was in the Raleigh, the state capital, meeting with election board investigators.
“There is uncertainty of when a new State Board of Elections will be operational, when a new State Board of Elections may act, and whether a new State Board of Elections will continue to drag this out unnecessarily and outside of any statutory procedure, as the prior State Board had done,” David Freedman, a Winston-Salem attorney representing the Harris campaign, told WRAL-TV in Raleigh.
If Mr. Harris’ lawsuit fails, the 9th District seat could remain empty until at least February or possibly until June if a do-over election is called.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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