CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — A new poll out Friday found half of the voters in North Carolina are worried about election fraud.
The latest Elon Poll found 51 percent of voters polled felt election fraud is a major problem in North Carolina while 41 percent felt it was a minor problem.
The poll was conducted shortly after testimony last week before the state board of elections outlining allegations of absentee ballot tampering by McCrae Dowless from Bladen County.
Dowless, who was arrested, was hired by Republican Mark Harris. Harris, who called for a new election, said he will not run again.
“I’m not surprised because of just not the state but national and even international attention to the North Carolina Ninth and what this has done for the past three months," said Catawba College political science professor Dr. Michael Bitzer when asked about the poll.
“I would assume public opinion would be impacted by that controversy and it certainly shows in the Elon Poll," he added.
Another poll out Friday gave a four-point lead to Democrat Dan McCready against whoever the Republicans pick to run.
The poll was conducted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee among voters in the 9th District that is a traditional Republican stronghold.
Dr. Bitzer said McCready already has a $500,000 war chest ready to go, and he'll only benefit if Republicans find themselves is a messy primary with too many candidates.
“If he has an open slot for his primary, then he’s raising money, continuing to attack and could potentially divide the Republican party based on how many candidates ultimately get in,” said Bitzer.