Meanwhile in North Carolina

A disputed congressional seat in North Carolina could remain vacant for months after incoming Democratic House leaders in Washington on Friday declared they would not seat the apparent Republican winner because of unresolved allegations of election fraud in that race.

[...]

Citing what he described as the “well-documented election fraud that took place,” Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the incoming House majority leader, said on Friday that “Democrats would object to any attempt by Mr. Harris to be seated on Jan. 3.”

[...]

Even before Democrats made that fresh vow on Friday afternoon, the chaotic fight for the Ninth District’s House seat had already plunged into deeper turmoil: North Carolina’s state elections board dissolved at noon on Friday under a court order, two weeks before it was to hold a public hearing to consider evidence of the fraud allegations.

[...]

Friday’s political drama came more than seven weeks after Mark Harris, the Republican nominee for Congress in the Ninth District, seemed to defeat Dan McCready, the Democratic candidate, by 905 votes in November. But Mr. Harris’s apparent victory was soon overshadowed by allegations that a contractor for his campaign engaged in illegal activity to compromise the election. According to witnesses and affidavits, the contractor, L. McCrae Dowless Jr., and people working for him collected absentee ballots in violation of state law.

  NYT

Because they can't win if they don't cheat.

Mr. Harris has denied wrongdoing but acknowledged this month that he had directed the hiring of Mr. Dowless, a political operative from Bladen County who had previously been scrutinized by the authorities for possible election tampering. No one, including Mr. Dowless, has been charged in connection with this year’s allegations, and Mr. Dowless, who has declined to comment, rejected a request to meet with state investigators.

Those investigators had been expected to present their findings at an elections board hearing on Jan. 11. After reviewing evidence at that hearing, the state board was expected to determine whether to order a new election under a North Carolina law that allows a new vote if “irregularities or improprieties occurred to such an extent that they taint the results of the entire election and cast doubt on its fairness.”

But plans for the January hearing, and the fate of the board, eventually ran headlong into a case that dealt with the constitutionality of the elections board’s design. On Thursday night, in a decision that stunned North Carolina Democrats and Republicans alike, a three-judge panel angrily rejected a bipartisan request to extend the life of the board temporarily.

[...]

Even with the demise of the board, state officials said the inquiry would continue at the staff level, even if a board was not yet in place to consider evidence and reach conclusions.

“The staff will continue to investigate the Ninth District irregularities and perform all other elections-related functions,” said Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the embattled panel.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 2/27/19: