The Latest:
McCrae Dowless is facing additional charges after a Wake County Grand Jury returned indictments Tuesday against multiple people connected to the voter fraud allegations in Bladen County during the 2018 9th Congressional District Election.
The new indictments additionally charge Dowless with two counts of Felony Obstruction of Justice, Perjury, Solicitation to Commit Purjury, Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice and Possession of Absentee Ballot.
Read the full indictment HERE.
Lisa M. Britt, Ginger S. Eason, Woody D. Hester, James Singletary, Tonya B. Long, Jessica Dowless, and Kelly Hendrix were also named in the court document. Each person faces charges related to the 2018 Bladen County election.
Hendrix, according to the District Attorney’s Office, also faces charges stemming from the 2016 General Election.
Original Story (Feb. 27, 2019):
WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — Officials say McCrae Dowless, the political operative who worked for Mark Harris’ campaign in the 9th Congressional District Election, has been indicted on several charges.
Read the indictments HERE.
The indictments became public Wednesday following the arrest of McCrae Dowless. He has been charged with three counts of felony obstruction of justice, two counts of conspiracy to commit felony obstruction of justice and and two counts of illegal possession of absentee ballots.
Four other people were also named in the indictment.
Caitlyn Croom, Matthew Mathis, Tonia Gordon and Rebecca Thompson are each charged with one count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice and possession of absentee ballot. According to the indictments, Mathis faces additional charges of falsely signing the voter certification on an absentee ballot.
The Associated Press has released this information on Dowless’s charges:
An operative in North Carolina’s unresolved congressional race has been charged with obstruction and illegal ballot possession related to 2016 and 2018 elections .
According to testimony and other findings detailed at an election board hearing last week, Leslie McCrae Dowless conducted an illegal “ballot harvesting” operation. He and his assistants are accused of gathering up absentee ballots from voters by offering to put them in the mail.
He was working on behalf of Republican candidate Mark Harris, who had a slim lead in the vote count before a new election was ordered.
The NC State Board of Elections issued the following statement Wednesday regarding the indictments.
The State Board of Elections commends Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, her staff and the State Bureau of Investigation for their efforts in bringing this serious election fraud from 2016 and the 2018 primary election to prosecution.
State Board staff investigated and identified absentee voting irregularities in 2016 and forwarded its findings to state and federal authorities. This agency will continue to support efforts to prosecute coordinated election fraud in North Carolina, including activities during the 2018 elections.
“These indictments should serve as a stern warning to anyone trying to defraud elections in North Carolina,” said Kim Westbrook Strach, State Board executive director. “Today is a new and better day for elections in our state.”
The State Board will send staff members to Bladen and Robeson counties ahead of the new election in the 9th Congressional District to monitor and assist with the elections process. The State Board will meet Monday (March 4) to set a calendar for a new election in the 9th Congressional District.
