At a hearing over possible election fraud in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District midterm race, an election official said a Republican operative orchestrated a “coordinated, unlawful and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme” to help Republican Mark Harris win the election. The still-uncalled race pits Republican Mark Harris against Democrat Dan McCready. Harris initially appeared to be the narrow winner, but the race was never certified, after evidence emerged of possible election fraud. Investigators found that longtime conservative operative Leslie McCrae Dowless hired workers to illegally collect absentee ballots and in some cases fill them in favor of Republican candidates. Dowless was reportedly paid by a group called Red Dome—a company hired by the Harris campaign to organize a get-out-the-vote campaign ahead of last year’s midterms. The hearing, which will resume today, could result in North Carolina’s election board deciding that a new election should be held in the 9th District.