CHARLOTTE, N.C. – One of the country's most competitive and contentious congressional races has yet to be officially called.

In a letter to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, the attorney for Republican Mark Harris' campaign says his client is preparing to take his oath of office and start work for North Carolina's 9th district.

Tuesday, vice chairman Joshua Malcolm led the State Board of Elections in, eventually voting 9-0 not to certify results of the 9th district race.

“The ninth Congressional District shall not be part of this certification vote,” Joshua Malcolm said. “That's going to be my motion, that the ninth congressional district not be included”

By Wednesday, the state board released a statement saying:

The State Board is investigating potential irregularities involving absentee ballots in the 9th Congressional District. The statute cited by the board in delaying the certification of that contest (G.S. 163A-1180) does not include a deadline or time frame for certification. State Board members are mindful that new members of Congress are expected to be sworn in in early January.

“I'm very familiar with unfortunate activities that have been happening down in my part of the state,” Malcom said.

 

 

Spectrum News has learned it could have something to do with Bladen County which is in the 9th district. The Board of Election's chairman says state elections chief investigator confiscated several absentee envelopes back on November 7.

This wouldn't be Bladen County's first bout with election issues. Falsified write-in votes were alleged in 2016.

“It has repeatedly been referred to the united states attorney, and the district attorneys are going to take action and clean it up, in my opinion, those things have not taken place,” Malcolm said.

Harris' attorney is demanding the state board of elections give him access to all the information relating to the investigation as it pertains to counting or not counting votes and the number of votes involved.

Vice-chairman Malcolm is just as vigilant and determined.

“I am not going to turn a blind eye to what took place to the best of my understanding, which has been ongoing for a number of years,” he said.

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