RALEIGH, N.C. -- The evidentiary hearing continued Tuesday in the battle over the vacant 9th Congressional District seat. According to Mark Harris' attorney, he is expected to take the stand Wednesday.
- As the investigation into possible election fraud continues in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, we've compiled our coverage on it here.
Republican Mark Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes, but this hearing will determine if election fraud played a role in the November election.
As the hearing continues, it's important to note that there is a separate ongoing criminal investigation in this race as well. Also, note that the U.S. House does get the final say in all this, and can refuse to seat a person even if the election is certified.
The State Board of Elections came out swinging Monday, calling this a "coordinated unlawful absentee ballot scheme."
Two of the four witnesses who testified actually collected ballots, and their testimony was riveting, turning the board's attention to McCrae Dowless, a longtime political operative from Bladen County. Dowless refused to testify, but witnesses who took the stand claimed he paid workers to collect absentee ballots from voters, which is a felony in North Carolina.
The State Board of Elections ultimately has the task of deciding whether to certify the November results or to call a new election altogether.
On Tuesday, Andy Yates, the head of Red Dome Group and political consultant for the Mark Harris campaign, testified.
Yates has been silent since the entire fraud investigation began, and there were questions if he would actually testify Tuesday.
He took the stand to defend his name and the name of his company, and was adamant that Dowless presented his "Get Out the Vote" efforts as legal and effective.
He says if he knew any different, he would have ended the business relationship with him.
On multiple occasions, Yates tied Mark Harris to Dowless, saying Harris had hired him before hiring Red Dome Group.
When asked if he believed there is any wrongdoing, Yates said after hearing testimony prior to him, he doesn't know what to believe.
It's unclear how many more witnesses will be called in this hearing.
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