Top House Democrat says may not seat North Carolina Republican in vote row: report

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives may decide not to seat a North Carolina Republican currently embroiled in a voting controversy after they take control in January, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

Representative Steny Hoyer, who will take on the powerful role of House Majority Leader next month, told reporters if there is “a very substantial question on the integrity of the election” Democrats would oppose seating Republican Mark Harris until the matter is resolved, the Post reported.

Hoyer’s office did not return a request for comment.

North Carolina’s Board of Elections on Friday declined to certify Harris’ apparent victory in the race, calling for a public hearing to investigate claims of voter fraud and irregularities.

Harris edged out Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes in the Nov. 6 congressional election. But the validity of hundreds of mail-in absentee ballots from a rural county has been called into question, the elections board said on Twitter.

Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe