New Development in the NC-9 Congressional Seat

The previously scheduled January 11th State Board of Elections (SBOE) hearing into ballot fraud in the 9th Congressional District election is now off. There is currently no empaneled SBOE. Governor Cooper's plan to appoint an interim board to hear the evidence in the NC-9 case has been thwarted by the NC GOP, which refuses to recommend Republican members to that temporary board. (A new, fully functioning board is not scheduled to be appointed by the governor until January 31. You can thank the Republican-dominated General Assembly for that.)

Speculation abounds as to what happens now. Republican Rev. Mark Harris is trying to get a Wake County Superior Court judge to go ahead and certify his election. Harris also finally agreed to a sit-down interview with SBOE investigators, which is happening today in Raleigh. Meanwhile, the rest of Congress is being sworn in today, minus Harris. My understanding is that the US House has the power to determine who will be seated but does not have the power to order a new election.

So we wait? Until January 31st? Presumably, a new SBOE will finally schedule that hearing, presumably for sometime in February. It's beginning to look a lot like we'll be deep into 2019 before we get some closure on this chapter in our state's history.