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Final Draught: The Vote Collectors with Michael Graff & Nick Ochsner
April 12, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
$10 – $25
In November 2018, Baptist preacher Mark Harris beat the odds, narrowly fending off a blue wave in the sprawling Ninth District of North Carolina. But word soon got around that something fishy was going on in rural Bladen County. At the center of the mess was a local political operative named McCrae Dowless. Dowless had learned the ins and outs of the absentee ballot system from Democrats before switching over to the Republican Party. Bladen County’s vote-collecting cottage industry made national headlines, led to multiple election fraud indictments, toppled North Carolina GOP leadership, and left hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians without congressional representation for nearly a year.
In The Vote Collectors, Michael Graff and Nick Ochsner tell the story of the political shenanigans in Bladen County, exposing the shocking vulnerability of local elections and explaining why our present systems are powerless to monitor and prevent fraud. In their hands, this tale of rural corruption becomes a fascinating narrative of the long clash of racism and electioneering—and a larger story about the challenges to democracy in the rural South.
At a time rife with accusations of election fraud, The Vote Collectors shows the reality of election stealing in one southern county, where democracy was undermined the old-fashioned way: one absentee ballot at a time.
Join Michael and Nick at Town Brewing Company for Final Draught, the Library Foundation’s themed, quarterly discussion series featuring conversation, beer and books.
A fine-grained and vivid account of the 2018 North Carolina congressional race that was overturned because of electoral fraud…Throughout, the authors weave in intriguing bits of local color and draw trenchant connections to fraud claims in the 2020 presidential election. This doggedly reported chronicle sheds light on America’s political dysfunctions.”
Publishers Weekly
About the Authors
Michael Graff is the southern bureau chief for Axios Local and a reporter for Axios Charlotte. His work has appeared in ESPN, Politico, Garden & Gun, the Guardian, Success, among others. Before Axios, he was the editor of Charlotte magazine, senior editor of Our State magazine, and worked as a reporter for the Fayetteville Observer, the Rocky Mount Telegram, and the Winchester Star. He lives in the NoDa neighborhood of Charlotte with his wife Laura, 2-year-old son George, and 6-year-old mutt Gizmo.
Nick Ochsner is chief investigative reporter for WBTV. He has worked as an investigative reporter in Lubbock, TX and Hampton Roads, Va. He lives in Charlotte with his wife, Sarah and their two dogs, Murrow and Cassie.
Two Ticket Options
Option A
$10 includes the program and light bites
Option B
$25 includes a signed book, program and light bites.
Additional copies of The Vote Collectors book will be available for purchase at the event.
Proceeds benefit the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation.