Makers of ‘Serial’ podcast will release a new series on election fraud in NC

The makers of “Serial,” the biggest name in podcasting, have turned their attention to rural North Carolina to report on one of the nation’s biggest topics in recent years: election fraud.

Serial Productions’ latest series, “The Improvement Association,” examines North Carolina’s 2018 District 9 congressional race, in which Republican Mark Harris’ win over Democratic rival Dan McCready was thrown out because of absentee-ballot fraud in Bladen County, a rural county situated in southeastern North Carolina.

It was the only time in recent history that a congressional election was voided because of fraud.

“Serial” reporter Zoe Chace tells listeners in a trailer for the new series that “The Improvement Association” will tell us the story behind that incident — the story “that most people don’t know.”

What’s that story? Part of the story, according to some in Bladen County, is that “election cheaters” are still at work there, and, they say, the cheaters are members of a Black advocacy group called the Bladen County Improvement Association PAC. The group has been accused of bullying Black voters, tampering with ballots and stealing votes — accusations that have never been substantiated.

The podcast, Chase tells us, will investigate who is making the accusations, and try to figure out who is telling the truth.

“The Improvement Association” will premiere on April 13.

What is ‘Serial’?

“Serial” is an investigative journalism podcast that tells one story over the course of many episodes, each story or topic making up one season. Listeners can download or stream the audio from a computer, smartphone or tablet. (Apple, Spotify and Stitcher are popular podcast players.)

“Serial” became an international sensation in 2014 when it released its 12-part season on Adnan Syed, a young Baltimore man who some believe was falsely imprisoned for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee — both high school seniors at the time of the murder.

“Serial” followed up in December 2014 with a season about U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was charged with desertion after being held by the Taliban.

Season 3, in 2018, examined the American criminal justice system by spending a year following various people and cases in Cleveland, Ohio.

The “Serial” podcast was developed by the public radio show “This American Life” (also available in podcast form) and as of July 2020, is owned by The New York Times.

The team at “Serial” also produced the highly acclaimed (and somewhat divisive) podcast series “S-Town,” released in 2017. “S-Town” told the inexplicably fascinating story of a man named John B. McLemore, a horologist in Woodstock, Alabama.

You can learn more about these podcasts at serialpodcast.org.

The landing page for The Improvement Association appears to be at The New York Times.

What happened in Bladen County?

Republican Mark Harris, a former pastor from Union County, appeared to have won the 2018 District 9 race by 905 votes, but the State Board of Elections refused to certify the election after allegations of fraud surfaced. (Republican Dan Bishop later won the seat in a special election.)

Harris had hired McCrae Dowless to act as his operative in Bladen County, despite warnings from his son, John Harris, that Dowless was involved in illegally collecting absentee ballots.

During a hearing, several people testified that Dowless paid them to collect ballots. Dowless, along with four other Bladen County residents, were charged with a number of crimes related to the scheme.

Dowless is still awaiting trial. Harris was never charged.

Learn more about the Bladen County ballot fraud at newsobserver.com/topics/election-fraud-investigation.

This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Makers of ‘Serial’ podcast will release a new series on election fraud in NC."

Brooke Cain

The News & Observer

Brooke Cain is a North Carolina native who has worked at The News & Observer and McClatchy for more than 30 years as a researcher, reporter and media writer. She is the National Service Journalism Editor for McClatchy.