Incoming House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Friday that Democrats next week will not seat a North Carolina Republican amid allegations of election fraud in the states 9th Congressional District.
Given the now well-documented election fraud that took place in NC-09, Democrats would object to any attempt by [Mark] Harris to be seated on January 3, Hoyer said in a statement. In this instance, the integrity of our democratic process outweighs concerns about the seat being vacant at the start of the new Congress.
The statement came after North Carolina dissolved its elections board Friday without certifying the Nov. 6 results, leaving the fate of the seat in doubt days ahead of the start of the new Congress.
David B. Freedman, an attorney for Harris, said the Republican has cooperated with the investigation and looks forward to this matter coming to a resolution as quickly as possible so that he may serve the people of the 9th Congressional District as he was elected to do.
In a statement to WSOC-TV in Charlotte, Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, expressed confidence that Harris would be on Capitol Hill soon.
We believe Mark Harris is the duly elected Congressman Elect and will be certified and seated sooner rather than later, he said.
Earlier, he told CNN: Mr. Harris got more legal votes . . . He should be certified and he should go to Congress.
The decision by House Democrats comes weeks after allegations of fraud led the North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics to refuse to certify the results of the election.
House Democrats are poised to take control of the chamber next week, and the House has the express constitutional authority to judge the elections, returns and qualifications of its members.
The fight over the seat adds to the drama of the first day of the new Congress as the House elects a speaker and lawmakers are sworn in. The government shutdown will likely remain unresolved that first week, a more pressing priority for leadership.
The election board has been central to the probe into election fraud that has roiled North Carolina, drawn national attention and deprived Harris of a victory over Democrat Dan McCready, whom he led by little more than 900 votes.
In affidavits to the board, voters alleged various types of election-related impropriety. Some said their absentee ballots had been collected by strangers, an illegal practice known as ballot harvesting.
Reports in local and national media implicated a Republican operative who had been working on behalf of Harriss campaign. The operation is the subject of multiple investigations.
Harris has said he had no knowledge of any illegal activity and said he supports an investigation. However, he has argued the election results should be certified in the meantime. The State Board should not deprive the citizens of the 9th District of their right to representation, he said in a filing to the state elections board Friday.