McCrae Dowless Coverage

McCrae Dowless dies after battle with cancer

McCrae Dowless, the key player in a North Carolina absentee ballot fraud probe that led to a do-over congressional election, has died.

DA: Plea deal in 9th District election scandal on table until Nov. 30

The central figure in a scandal that forced a redo of a 2018 North Carolina congressional election has rejected a plea deal in the case.

McCrae Dowless rejects plea deal in 9th District election scandal

The central figure in a scandal that forced a redo of a 2018 North Carolina congressional election has rejected a plea deal in the case.

Amanda Lamb, WRAL reporter

Central figure in 9th District election scandal gets six months in prison for fraud

The central figure in an election scandal that forced a redo of a 2018 North Carolina congressional election was sentenced Thursday to six months in federal prison for unrelated fraud charges.

Political operative's medical emergency delays fraud sentencing

The central figure in an election scandal that forced a redo of a 2018 North Carolina congressional election was hospitalized ahead of his Wednesday afternoon sentencing in federal court.

Key figure in 9th District election scandal hospitalized

McCrae Dowless was scheduled for sentencing Wednesday afternoon in federal court.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Central figure in 9th District election scandal pleads guilty to fraud

The man accused of illegally collecting absentee ballots in the 9th Congressional District election in 2018, forcing North Carolina officials to throw out the results of the election and order a new one, pleaded guilty Monday to fraud, authorities said.

Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor

DRAUGHON DRAWS: Timelines

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020 -- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist.

No criminal charges for candidate in 9th District absentee ballot mess

Mark Harris, the congressional candidate whose Bladen County operative sparked multiple criminal investigations and a do-over election last year in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, won't face criminal charges over the debacle, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman announced Wednesday.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Key figure in 9th District absentee ballot scheme charged with Social Security fraud

Leslie McCrae Dowless, the central figure in the election fraud investigation that led to a redo of the 2018 race in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, was indicted this month on charges he lied in an application for Social Security benefits.

Central figure in 9th District scandal gets court-appointed lawyer

McCrae Dowless, the political operative accused of tampering with absentee ballots in the 2018 9th Congressional District election, said during a Monday court hearing that he is indigent and can no longer afford his attorney. So, Drew Sprague was appointed to represent him.

In wake of fraud scandal, voting by mail dropped by two-thirds in 9th District

The use of mail-in absentee ballots - the voting method at the heart of an election fraud scandal that triggered the do-over election in the 9th Congressional District - fell by more than two-thirds across the district, according to the latest data from the State Board of Elections.

Tyler Dukes, WRAL investigative reporter

9th District defendant points finger at Dowless

McCrae Dowless, accused of paying people to pick up absentee ballots from voters and drop them off at the campaign headquarters for Republican Congressional candidate Mark Harris, politely declined to comment as he left the courtroom, but one of the defendants who feels like she was duped by Dowless into doing something she says she did not know at the time was illegal had plenty to say.

District 9 defendant: Didn't know actions were illegal, 'don't know nothing about politics'

After a court appearance Monday, Ginger Shae Eason told WRAL News she is angry at McCrae Dowless and didn't understand how her actions could land her in legal trouble.

Amanda Lamb, WRAL reporter

9th District suspects have no comment after court appearances

Seven suspects charged in the 9th Congressional District absentee ballot fraud scandal made their first court appearances on Monday.

Suspects in 9th District ballot fraud case make initial appearance in court

Seven people charged in the 9th Congressional District absentee ballot fraud scandal made their first appearances in court on Monday.

Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief, & Nia Harden, WRAL reporter

DA: Investigation into absentee ballot fraud not over

The absentee ballot fraud scandal that forced a new election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District resulted in criminal charges Tuesday against more than a half-dozen people.

Criminal charges filed in 9th District absentee ballot fraud scandal

The absentee ballot fraud scandal that forced a new election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District resulted in criminal charges Tuesday against more than a half-dozen people.

9th District warrants unsealed as officials call for new absentee ballot rules

In the wake of fraud that has forced a new election in the 9th Congressional District, North Carolina elections officials called Wednesday for tighter rules on how mail-in absentee ballots are requested and submitted.

Unsealed warrants show FBI probed 9th District issues before '18 election

Following the protest of a coalition of North Carolina and national media outlets, a Wake County judge this week unsealed three search warrants seeking phone and financial records from the political operative at the center of a criminal election fraud investigation dating back to at least 2016.

Tyler Dukes, WRAL investigative reporter

9th District election fraud now part of federal criminal probe

Federal investigators earlier this month demanded documents in the 9th Congressional District investigation, the first signal of a formal U.S. Department of Justice criminal probe into alleged election fraud in North Carolina.

Tyler Dukes, WRAL investigative reporter, & Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Fact Check: Mitch McConnell says GOP predicted election fraud like North Carolina's 9th District

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell referred to election fraud in North Carolina in a speech but twists the facts.

Matthew Riley, Paul Specht

Fifth person arrested in absentee ballot fraud case

Four people have been arrested this week in connection to voting irregularities in Bladen County.

3 arrested on obstruction of justice charges in 9th District probe

Three people have been arrested in connection to the irregularities in the 2018 9th Congressional District election. They were charged with conspiracy to commit felonious obstruction of justice and possession of an absentee ballot.

Bladen official helps get McCrae Dowless out of jail on election fraud charges

A day after he was arrested on election fraud-related charges, political operative McCrae Dowless was released from the Wake County jail on Thursday after a former member of the Bladen County Board of Elections helped bail him out.