Four “mules” linked to late North Carolina Republican operative Leslie McRae Dowless, who died earlier this year while awaiting trial for his role in the absentee ballot harvesting scam that forced a do-over in a 2018 US House election pleaded guilty Monday to misdemeanors for their involvement in the scam, the AP reports. Rebecca Thompson, Tonia Marie Gordon, Ginger Shae Eason, and Kelly Hendrix pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess absentee ballots and received suspended jail sentences, probation and 100 hours of community service.