Robeson County Gears Up for Special Election
On September 10th, North Carolina will be holding two special elections in order to elect members to the U.S. House of Representatives. The first, in the Third Congressional District which encompasses multiple counties in eastern North Carolina, will pit Republican Greg Murphy, Democrat Allen Thomas, Libertarian Tim Harris, and Constitutional Party member Greg Holt to fill the seat left by the death of Congressman Walter Jones, who died in February of this year.
The special election for the Ninth Congressional District hits closer to campus. The district, which runs through Robeson County and stretches through Cumberland, Mecklenburg, Union, and other southern North Carolina counties, was called after an investigation into massive voter fraud throughout the district.
Four candidates will be contesting the election: Republican Dan Bishop, a current North Carolina state senator, Democrat Dan McCready, Libertarian Jeff Scott, and Green Party member Allen Smith.
Dan Bishop is replacing former Republican candidate Mark Harris, who was leading McCready by 905 votes in the unofficial election results in November 2018. After being made aware of Harris campaign workers filling out absentee ballots, the North Carolina Democratic Party filed affidavits to the North Carolina Board of Elections that alleged voter fraud; after testimony from multiple parties, including Harris’ son, who is a state prosecutor, the Board of Elections voted unanimously to hold new elections, including primaries.
Multiple former Harris campaign workers were indicted and charged in conjunction with the voter fraud, and they are currently awaiting trial in Wake County.
Dan Bishop is a self-described “pro-life, pro-gun, pro-wall” Republican, while Democrat McCready has campaigned heavily on “country over party.” Libertarian Jeff Scott has stated he is against nationalizing the healthcare industry, and that state teacher pensions should buy and hold debt from student loans, according to his campaign website. Green Party candidate Allen Smith, who, according to his campaign site, is in favor of gun control, the abolishment of nuclear weapons and slashing the defense budget, and the legalization of cannabis.
Voter registration for the special election ended on August 16th, but voting can be carried out by absentee ballot, which can be requested no later than September 3rd and returned no later than September 10th. Voting can be conducted in person on September 10th; early voting is from August 21st-September 6th.
