North Carolina Delays Certification of 9th District Race; AP Retracts Call for GOP

November 30, 2018

Maybe we're not done with the midterms after all. North Carolina officials have again declined to certify the results in the state's 9th congressional district. Allegations of voter fraud will continue to be investigated, and a hearing will be held on December 21st. The issues seem centered around absentee ballot irregularities, particularly in Bladen County.

On Friday afternoon, the Associated Press retracted their November 9th call for Republican Mark Harris, who appeared to have won the race by about 0.6%. They are basically going to treat this situation as they do races with recounts. AP does not call winners in any election that is subject to recount. They may also be wanting to get out in front of this situation, after they were slow to retract their call in CA-21.

The AP is retracting its call of a winner for U.S. House in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. The AP called the race for Republican Mark Harris on Nov. 9, after Democrat Dan McCready conceded. https://t.co/u3heS1YiJj

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 30, 2018

The state board has the authority to call for a new election if "irregularities or improprieties occurred to such an extent that they taint the results of the entire election and cast doubt on its fairness."  For more, follow this Twitter Moments thread from WSOC-TV reporter Joe Bruno.