When the 116th Congress started on Jan. 3, all of the elected representatives were seated, except for one: the supposed winner from North Carolina’s 9th district.

Mark Harris, the Republican who won district 9, is currently being investigated for voter fraud. It is alleged that Republican operative Leslie McCrae Dowless was working for Harris to illegally collect, or possibly even destroy, absentee ballots from the district. Multiple affidavits have been signed by individuals who say Dowless personally collected their ballots. In the state of North Carolina, it is illegal for anyone except for a close relative or guardian to take someone’s ballot; at one point Dowless told a voter that he had “over 800 ballots in his possession”.

One affidavit from a member of a local elections board suggested not only that Dowless was in possession of the ballots, but that election officials gave him access to personal information about people who had requested absentee ballots, including their Social Security numbers. It is thought that when problems arose with absentee ballots, the county elections officials, instead of reporting it to the person whose name was on the ballot, reported it to Dowless to handle. State investigators have tried for years to report Dowless to local authorities and the U.S. attorney’s office. As recently as Jan. 2018, it was recommended that criminal charges be brought against him for illegally handling absentee ballots in previous elections.

The election of Harris is being investigated by the NC Board of Elections. Hearings in the case were set to be held in December, but these have since been postponed indefinitely. The NC Board of Elections can’t hold hearings, because it doesn’t exist. The board was dissolved in December after it was ruled unconstitutional by a three judge panel, due to the extent to which it takes power away from the governor.

Regardless of what the board finds, House Democrats have the final say on whether Harris is seated. As of now, it is unlikely that they will seat him.