GOP candidate says he was assured of operative's methods

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Republican in the country's last undecided congressional election testified Thursday that a political operative now accused of ballot fraud assured him "again and again" that he wouldn't collect absentee ballots in violation of state law.

GOP congressional candidate Mark Harris described during a special state elections board hearing how he accepted the word of political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless that he was able to get results for candidates because of his relationships in rural Bladen County.

Harris said he met with Dowless in person before hiring him and came away thinking the operative used a labor-intensive process to convince people to request and send mail-in ballots.