In North Carolina, election officials are investigating possible fraud in a tight congressional election that remains uncalled nearly one month after the midterm elections. Unofficial results have Republican Mark Harris leading Democrat Dan McCready by just over 900 votes. The investigation centers on a number of absentee ballots which appear to have been signed by witnesses who have ties to Leslie McCrae Dowless, a Republican operative who worked for Harris. Dowless pleaded guilty to insurance fraud in the 1990s after he took out a $163,000 policy on a dead man, according to court records. Additionally, a disproportionately high number of requested absentee ballots were not returned in a county that favored Harris in both the primary and general elections. The North Carolina elections board may decide to hold a new election if they are unable to declare a winner.