Reporters detail NC's infamous 2018 race for the 9th Congressional District in 'The Vote Collectors'

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Voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States — so rare, in fact, that it is more likely for an American to be struck by lightning than to commit voter fraud.

But in 2018, lightning struck in North Carolina. Republican Mark Harris’ win for the 9^th Congressional District was ultimately voided after evidence emerged that an operative for his campaign allegedly tampered with absentee ballots.

It may be the only time in the last 80 years in which a congressional race has been voided due to fraud.

SouthBound

Tommy Tomlinson

This week on the SouthBound podcast, my guests are Michael Graff and Nick Ochsner. They’re the co-authors of a new book called “The Vote Collectors,” which takes a deep look at the controversial 2018 election in North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District – a rare election where voter fraud actually occurred. But there’s a lot more to the story than one election.

Nonetheless, in response to the specter of election meddling, new voter laws in many states have made it harder for Americans to vote, all the while former President Donald Trump continues to lie about the 2020 election results.

To understand how North Carolina's 2018 race for the 9^th District still resonates in politics nationwide, we sit down with two Charlotte-area reporters to discuss their book "The Vote Collectors: The True Story of the Scamsters, Politicians, and Preachers behind the Nation’s Greatest Electoral Fraud."

GUESTS

Nick Ochsner, executive producer for investigations and chief investigative reporter for WBTV in Charlotte and co-author of "The Vote Collectors: The True Story of the Scamsters, Politicians, and Preachers behind the Nation’s Greatest Electoral Fraud"

Michael Graff, editor for Axios Charlotte and co-author of "The Vote Collectors: The True Story of the Scamsters, Politicians, and Preachers behind the Nation’s Greatest Electoral Fraud"