North Carolina's state board of elections again declined to certify Republican Mark Harris' apparent victory over Democrat Dan McCready in the 9th Congressional District on Friday, instead calling for a hearing to discuss the matter on or before Dec. 21.
Harris won the race by 905 votes, but the validity of mail-in absentee ballots from Bladen County have been called into question.
The evidentiary hearing is due "to claims of numerous irregularities and concerted fraudulent activities related to absentee mail ballots" and "to assure that the election is determined without taint," said Joshua Malcolm, vice chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement.
The vote was 7-2 to hold the hearing. Two of the board's four Republicans voted yes.
The nine members met for nearly three hours in closed session on Friday. They certified results for several elections across the state, but not in the 9th, which stretches from Charlotte to Fayetteville along the state's southern border.
"We applaud the board's bipartisan decision to delay certification and fully investigate the concerning allegations in the 9th Congressional District. North Carolina voters deserve to know the truth and their voices deserve to be heard," said Wayne Goodwin, chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, in a statement.
On Tuesday, the board refused to certify the results of the Harris-McCready race in a unanimous decision. Malcolm, a Robeson County Democrat, told the board that he was "very familiar with unfortunate activities that have been happening down in my part of the state. And I am not going to turn a blind eye to what took place to the best of my understanding."
It's still unclear what will happen next month at the elections board. In October, a three-judge panel ruled the board unconstitutional. A stay in the ruling allows the board to operate as-is until 11:59 p.m. on Monday. Republican lawmakers are pushing for a new stay _ with or without Gov. Roy Cooper's approval.
At the end of Friday's meeting, chairman Andy Penry thanked the board members for their service. Penry is under fire for tweets about President Donald Trump.
"I have enjoyed serving with all of you. Thank you for your cooperation and hard work during the time we've served together," Penry said.
Harris defeated Rep. Robert Pittenger in the Republican primary in May by 828 votes. In that election, Harris won 437 absentee votes in Bladen County, and Pittenger won 17 votes, according to the state board.
Harris attended Congress' new member orientation in Washington, D.C., last week. Harris was again in Washington on Friday as new members of Congress participated in a lottery to determine the order for picking their offices.
