Current Events > Woman says she was paid to collect absentee ballots in NC house race.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/419561-woman-admits-to-picking-up-absentee-ballots-in-north-carolina

An absentee ballot witness said Monday that a Bladen County, N.C., electioneer paid her to collect absentee ballots from last month's midterm elections.

Ginger Eason told WSOCTV, a local news station in Charlotte, that Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. paid her between $75 and $100 to pick up completed absentee ballots for North Carolina's 9th District, the results of which are being officially investigated.

I was helping McCrae pick up ballots, Eason said to the news outlet, referring to the Bladen County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor who appears to be at the center of the probe.

Eason added that she didn't see who people were voting for, but that she never mailed the ballots. Instead, she gave them to Dowless, adding that he did not mention to her that what she was doing was illegal.

Dowless, known locally as McCrae, has been named twice in sworn affidavits as someone who worked for Republican candidate Mark Harris's campaign against Democrat Dan McCready.

When asked by WSOCTV about paying people to pick up ballots, Dowless said that he had no comment.

WSOCTV said that it has found what appears to be a targeted effort to illegally pick up ballots in Bladen County.

The news station reported that it consistently found the same people signing as witnesses for the people voting, something it notes is unusual. Eason was listed as signing as a witness for 28 submitted and accepted absentee ballot envelopes.

McCready conceded to Harris and said he would not request a recount after being down approximately 700 votes in November.

But the elections board elected not to certify the results, citing claims of irregularities and fraudulent activities related to absentee by-mail voting.

Bladen County has received increased attention stemming from voter affidavits submitted to the board that allege scenarios where people came to their homes and asked them to hand in their absentee ballots.

Officials have also been probing uncommonly high numbers of absentee ballots submitted in Bladen County.

North Carolina's state elections board chairman, Andy Penry, resigned on Saturday, saying that he won't allow himself to be used as an "instrument of distraction."

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Apparantly CE doesn't care about election fraud.
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Tmaster148 posted...

Apparantly CE doesn't care about election fraud.

Generally the people who whine most about election fraud are the ones committing the fraud.
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we care.
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Tmaster148 posted...

Apparantly CE doesn't care about election fraud.

Trumpanzees: "FAKE NEWS WHAT ABOUT HER EMAILS RABBLE"

Tmaster148 posted...

Apparantly CE doesn't care about election fraud.

Its not like we can do anything about it lol
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NC GOP being shady

I am shocked, I tell you

shocked
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Party of projection?
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https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/man-in-center-of-voter-fraud-investigation-in-nc-district-9-race-has-criminal-past/882190369

As the North Carolina Board of Elections investigates the results of the 9th Congressional District election between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready, questions swirl about a Bladen County electioneer.

For years, Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. has been well known in Bladen County political circles.

Dowless, who goes by McCrae, serves on the board of the Bladen County Soil and Water Conservation District as the vice chair, an elected position.

Dowless is better known for his work on campaigns other than his own.

Attempts to get in contact with Dowless have been unsuccessful. When Channel 9 stopped by the Bladen County Soil and Water Conversation District Office last week, an employee said Dowless is only in for meetings and he doesnt use computers often.

Dowless has a criminal record dating back to the 1980s.

Records show Dowless served six months in prison after being convicted of felony fraud charge in 1992. Dowless has also previously faced a charge for perjury.

A criminal past has not stopped Dowless from working on campaigns of several prominent local and statewide politicians.

Dowless political career has been centered around getting out the vote.

According to campaign finance reports, Dowless first major race was in 2010, working for Harold Butch Popes campaign for Bladen County district attorney.

The Pope campaign paid Dowless $7,127 over the course of the year.

A majority of the payments were for "get out the vote" efforts. Pope defeated Jon David by more than 4,000 votes.

Over the next couple of years, Dowless was paid thousands of dollars for get out the vote efforts and, at times, campaign manager for eastern North Carolina candidates Wesley Meredith, Al Leonard, Ken Waddell, and William Brisson.

Dowless candidates have not been limited to eastern North Carolina

He was paid $800 for consulting fees for Republican Charlotte City Council candidate Pete Givens. Mark Harris, a friend of Givens, did a fundraiser and campaigned for him.

The NCSBE is currently investigating claims of irregularities and fraudulent activities related to absentee by-mail voting.

Dowless past work includes huge differences between his candidates absentee by mail total and opponents.

Dowless wasnt always connected to the Harris campaign.

In the 2016 primary, records show Dowless worked for Todd Johnson, who ran against Harris and Robert Pittenger.

Campaign finance reports show Dowless was paid $6,456 by Johnsons campaign.

The disbursement description was for get out the vote.

In the June 2016 primary, Johnson finished last in the race, trailing the top vote-getter Pittenger by a little more than 1,100 votes. Despite the loss, Johnson dominated in Bladen County, carrying 68 percent of the vote.

A deeper look at the votes reveals Johnson received 98 percent of absentee by mail votes.

Johnson received 221 absentee-by-mail votes.

Pittenger and Harris combined for five.

The 221 absentee-by-mail votes amounted to 51 percent of his total votes received by that method and 21 percent of the total amount of absentee-by-mail votes when each candidates totals are added together.

As Channel 9 reported last week, Dowless was referenced in two affidavits that are now included in NCSBEs investigation.

In one affidavit, a witness claims he overheard a person saying Dowless would be paid $40,000 for a Mark Harris victory.

Another man claims in an affidavit that Dowless told him he was doing absentees for the Mark Harris campaign and James McVickers campaign for Bladen County sheriff.

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shockthemonkey posted...

So what are the chances that the GOP uses their own corruption as an excuse to fuck with more Democratic voters in the next election?

110%
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Tmaster148 posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

So what are the chances that the GOP uses their own corruption as an excuse to fuck with more Democratic voters in the next election?

110%

GOP: "We don't know that guy"
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How much do you want to bet hes done this before and is only getting caught now because of the margin of victory
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GOP and election fraud. Like peanut butter and jelly.
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But those Democrats were putting on different hats and voting again and again!
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What that woman was paid to do, interestingly enough, is legal in CA and may have been the single reason that Orange county flipped from GOP stronghold to total Dem control. The woman in the story is witness to 28 absentee ballots. CA collected 5,000,000.

All the Orange County California congressional elections won by republicans swung from GOP wins to Dem wins after the election and the winners announced due to a record flood of absentee/provisional ballots after voting had already concluded, and nobody gave a shit. But this is news.

Here's a mix of sources (one left, one right) for the claim above, BTW.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/democratic-sweep-in-california-raises-gop-
suspicion/2018/11/30/f6c3f416-f4e2-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html?utm_term=.d166fc293f66

Whether Democrats have a clear edge is debatable. Whats not is that vote counts in California now routinely stretch long beyond Election Day. A stunning five million ballots, or more than 40 percent of the overall total, were counted after Nov. 6. Some counties still are tabulating ballots.

Fred Whitaker, who heads the Orange County GOP, said in an email that an unprecedented number of ballots dropped off on Election Day in the county more than 250,000 was a direct result of ballot harvesting ... that directly caused the switch from being ahead on election night to losing two weeks later.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ballot-harvesting-bounty-how-dems-used-election-law-change-to-rout-california-republicans

In Orange County once seen as a Republican stronghold in the state every House seat went to a Democrat after an unprecedented 250,000 vote-by-mail drop-offs were counted, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

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s0nicfan posted...

What that woman was paid to do, interestingly enough, is legal in CA and may have been the single reason that Orange county flipped from GOP stronghold to total Dem control. The woman in the story is witness to 28 absentee ballots. CA collected 5,000,000.

All the Orange County California congressional elections won by republicans swung from GOP wins to Dem wins after the election and the winners announced due to a record flood of absentee/provisional ballots after voting had already concluded, and nobody gave a shit. But this is news.

Here's a mix of sources (one left, one right) for the claim above, BTW.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/democratic-sweep-in-california-raises-gop-
suspicion/2018/11/30/f6c3f416-f4e2-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html?utm_term=.d166fc293f66

Whether Democrats have a clear edge is debatable. Whats not is that vote counts in California now routinely stretch long beyond Election Day. A stunning five million ballots, or more than 40 percent of the overall total, were counted after Nov. 6. Some counties still are tabulating ballots.

Fred Whitaker, who heads the Orange County GOP, said in an email that an unprecedented number of ballots dropped off on Election Day in the county more than 250,000 was a direct result of ballot harvesting ... that directly caused the switch from being ahead on election night to losing two weeks later.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ballot-harvesting-bounty-how-dems-used-election-law-change-to-rout-california-republicans

In Orange County once seen as a Republican stronghold in the state every House seat went to a Democrat after an unprecedented 250,000 vote-by-mail drop-offs were counted, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

That's not the same thing that is alledged to have happened in NC, but I can see why you're deflecting to "REEEEE MUH LIBERAL CALIFORNIA!" because the GOP is, once again, showing that they don't play by the rules in elections and will do anything to steal races.

There's a reason why multiple different courts across multiple states in numerous different years have found the Republican party engaging in these types of tactics. This isn't some one time thing that is being created now, this is a systematic thing that the court of law has found one side guilty of a hell of a lot more, and more recently, than the other side.
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Maybe people point to CA because it's a good example of this shit happening large scale, but keep harping on some woman collecting 28 ballots like it made a difference.
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s0nicfan posted...

Maybe people point to CA because it's a good example of this shit happening large scale, but keep harping on some woman collecting 28 ballots like it made a difference.

Absentee ballots and mail-in ballots aren't an example of stealing elections. Are you also the type that thinks Arizona was stolen from Republicans because of how the system works, and has worked, for many years?

Was 2016 seriously the first election you followed or something?
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Oh wow Republicans cheated in an election? Must be a first. Good thing they are quickly working to impeach this guy.
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The Great Muta 22 posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Maybe people point to CA because it's a good example of this shit happening large scale, but keep harping on some woman collecting 28 ballots like it made a difference.

Absentee ballots and mail-in ballots aren't an example of stealing elections. Are you also the type that thinks Arizona was stolen from Republicans because of how the system works, and has worked, for many years?

Was 2016 seriously the first election you followed or something?

Every single GOP win in orange county went from win to loss due solely to absentee ballots dropped off in record numbers due to mass collection efforts which were recently illegal in CA. Every one. If you think its fine because "it's legal now" then you're just being disingenuous. That's a bigger deal than 28 ballots.
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Its not just 28 ballots lol. Why do you think the board of elections refused to certify the race lol
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I think the whole illegally paid to collect absentee ballots is a huge deal than CA legally collecting then.
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s0nicfan posted...

The Great Muta 22 posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Maybe people point to CA because it's a good example of this shit happening large scale, but keep harping on some woman collecting 28 ballots like it made a difference.

Absentee ballots and mail-in ballots aren't an example of stealing elections. Are you also the type that thinks Arizona was stolen from Republicans because of how the system works, and has worked, for many years?

Was 2016 seriously the first election you followed or something?

Every single GOP win in orange county went from win to loss due solely to absentee ballots dropped off in record numbers due to mass collection efforts which were recently illegal in CA. Every one. If you think its fine because "it's legal now" then you're just being disingenuous. That's a bigger deal than 28 ballots.

So in a topic about an election in North Carolina not being certified due to actual evidence of voter fraud, you're going to complain about California, and openly state that the Dems stole elections there with no actual proof?

Why are you the way that you are?
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Rethuglicans at it again.
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s0nicfan posted...

Every single GOP win in orange county went from win to loss due solely to absentee ballots dropped off in record numbers due to mass collection efforts which were recently illegal in CA. Every one. If you think its fine because "it's legal now" then you're just being disingenuous. That's a bigger deal than 28 ballots.

Prove that these ballots, which were collected legally, were changed and that they flipped these races. Because it seems to me all your doing is deflecting away from the situation in NC, and doing so poorly at that.

Again, absentee and mail-in ballots aren't illegal nor are they signs of nefarious activity. They are a normal and valid thing, as well as a process that more and more states should be and WILL be endorsing as time goes on. Just because you guys are pissy that it takes longer to count and you don't IMMEDIATELY get the results on election night at midnight doesn't make them invalid.
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Bio1590 posted...

s0nicfan posted...

The Great Muta 22 posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Maybe people point to CA because it's a good example of this shit happening large scale, but keep harping on some woman collecting 28 ballots like it made a difference.

Absentee ballots and mail-in ballots aren't an example of stealing elections. Are you also the type that thinks Arizona was stolen from Republicans because of how the system works, and has worked, for many years?

Was 2016 seriously the first election you followed or something?

Every single GOP win in orange county went from win to loss due solely to absentee ballots dropped off in record numbers due to mass collection efforts which were recently illegal in CA. Every one. If you think its fine because "it's legal now" then you're just being disingenuous. That's a bigger deal than 28 ballots.

So in a topic about an election in North Carolina not being certified due to actual evidence of voter fraud, you're going to complain about California, and openly state that the Dems stole elections there with no actual proof?

Why are you the way that you are?

The right knows that what's happening in North Carolina is indefensible, so the next step is to deflect and muddy the waters.
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Democrats, you've got the house; and no matter how many recounts you demand, you aren't getting the senate.

It's time to stop throwing your little temper tantrum, and start focusing on fixing up your party so people actually WANT to vote for your candidates in the future, rather than at best thinking "well the other side is even worse, so I guess I'll vote for this slightly less bad one" then crying "election fraud wahhh!" when things don't go your way.
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DarkTransient posted...

Democrats, you've got the house; and no matter how many recounts you demand, you aren't getting the senate.

It's time to stop throwing your little temper tantrum, and start focusing on fixing up your party so people actually WANT to vote for your candidates in the future, rather than at best thinking "well the other side is even worse, so I guess I'll vote for this slightly less bad one" then crying "election fraud wahhh!" when things don't go your way.

Literally didn't read the article and just came to cry about Democrats.
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DarkTransient posted...

Democrats, you've got the house; and no matter how many recounts you demand, you aren't getting the senate.

It's time to stop throwing your little temper tantrum, and start focusing on fixing up your party so people actually WANT to vote for your candidates in the future, rather than at best thinking "well the other side is even worse, so I guess I'll vote for this slightly less bad one" then crying "election fraud wahhh!" when things don't go your way.

This is pretty much the written equivalent of someone jamming their fingers into their ears and running around making sputtering noises with their tongue
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DarkTransient posted...

Democrats, you've got the house; and no matter how many recounts you demand, you aren't getting the senate.

It's time to stop throwing your little temper tantrum, and start focusing on fixing up your party so people actually WANT to vote for your candidates in the future, rather than at best thinking "well the other side is even worse, so I guess I'll vote for this slightly less bad one" then crying "election fraud wahhh!" when things don't go your way.

This is a terrible deflection even by your standards.
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Bio1590 posted...

DarkTransient posted...

Democrats, you've got the house; and no matter how many recounts you demand, you aren't getting the senate.

It's time to stop throwing your little temper tantrum, and start focusing on fixing up your party so people actually WANT to vote for your candidates in the future, rather than at best thinking "well the other side is even worse, so I guess I'll vote for this slightly less bad one" then crying "election fraud wahhh!" when things don't go your way.

Literally didn't read the article and just came to cry about Democrats.

Not to mention this is about a house election and not a senate one.
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Tmaster148 posted...

Bio1590 posted...

DarkTransient posted...

Democrats, you've got the house; and no matter how many recounts you demand, you aren't getting the senate.

It's time to stop throwing your little temper tantrum, and start focusing on fixing up your party so people actually WANT to vote for your candidates in the future, rather than at best thinking "well the other side is even worse, so I guess I'll vote for this slightly less bad one" then crying "election fraud wahhh!" when things don't go your way.

Literally didn't read the article and just came to cry about Democrats.

Not to mention this is about a house election and not a senate one.

Yes that's why it's obvious he didn't read the article

North Carolina didn't even have a Senator up for reelection this cycle.
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DarkTransient posted...

Democrats, you've got the house; and no matter how many recounts you demand, you aren't getting the senate.

It's time to stop throwing your little temper tantrum, and start focusing on fixing up your party so people actually WANT to vote for your candidates in the future, rather than at best thinking "well the other side is even worse, so I guess I'll vote for this slightly less bad one" then crying "election fraud wahhh!" when things don't go your way.

Stop giving stupid advice to people you don't want to win anyway
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https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/419693-second-woman-says-she-was-paid-to-collect-absentee-ballots-in-north

A second woman has come forward claiming that a Bladen County, N.C., electioneer paid her to collect absentee ballots for last month's midterm elections.

Cheryl Kinlaw told WSOCTV, a local news station in Charlotte, N.C., that Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. paid her $100 to collect ballots in their district, adding that Dowless has been doing it for years."

Kinlaw said that she never mailed the ballots she collected and that she instead handed them over to Dowless. She said she was unaware that what she was doing was illegal.

s0nicfan posted...

ThAt'S a BiGgEr DeAl ThAn 28 BaLlOtS

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s0nicfan posted...

Maybe people point to CA because it's a good example of this shit happening large scale, but keep harping on some woman collecting 28 ballots like it made a difference.

Would it make a difference if one of those ballots were yours?
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To be fair, none of this could have happened if we had Voter ID laws, I think.

Maybe.
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Pogo_Marimo posted...

To be fair, none of this could have happened if we had Voter ID laws, I think.

Maybe.

Voter ID would be for in-person voting, not absentee or mail-in ballots.
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getting tough to dodge the lasers firing from all the galaxy brains in this thread
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So who won this race the GOP or a democrat? That might decide if I care about the fraud or not.
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shockthemonkey posted...

Pogo_Marimo posted...

To be fair, none of this could have happened if we had Voter ID laws, I think.

Maybe.

Nope. Voter ID laws wouldnt have done anything here.

Correct. They'd have probably made it worse cause Idk too.
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shockthemonkey posted...

Pogo_Marimo posted...

To be fair, none of this could have happened if we had Voter ID laws, I think.

Maybe.

Nope. Voter ID laws wouldnt have done anything here.

Well, how can we know if we never try?!?
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Pogo_Marimo posted...

Well, how can we know if we never try?!?

CableZL posted...

Voter ID would be for in-person voting, not absentee or mail-in ballots.

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shockthemonkey posted...

Pogo_Marimo posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

Pogo_Marimo posted...

To be fair, none of this could have happened if we had Voter ID laws, I think.

Maybe.

Nope. Voter ID laws wouldnt have done anything here.

Well, how can we know if we never try?!?

...how do you expect voter ID to work with mail in ballots?

Mail your id with your ballot.
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Tmaster148 posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

Pogo_Marimo posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

Pogo_Marimo posted...

To be fair, none of this could have happened if we had Voter ID laws, I think.

Maybe.

Nope. Voter ID laws wouldnt have done anything here.

Well, how can we know if we never try?!?

...how do you expect voter ID to work with mail in ballots?

Mail your id with your ballot.

Do they mail it back at least?
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