Ohio Is Set to Reckon With Outstanding Ballots

[Terri]

Ohio Is Set to Reckon With Outstanding Ballots

By Ralph Vartabedian and Henry Weinstein
LA Times

Ohio election officials said Monday that they would begin this week the final count of 155,428 provisional ballots and an unknown number of overseas absentee ballots that were cast in the presidential election.

According to the preliminary tally, which included all domestic absentee ballots, Sen. John F. Kerry lost Ohio by 136,483 votes, Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell said.

Attorneys for the Kerry campaign said Monday that they did not believe the outcome of the Ohio vote — which gave President Bush the electoral votes needed to win — could possibly change; they have discouraged speculation that voting irregularities caused Kerry's loss.

More (http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-ohio9nov09,1,5782472 .story?coll=la-news-a_section)

[hiwarmgun]

For once John Kerry did something I can agree with.

No, he didn't emigrate to France, he accepted the inevitable, that he lost Ohio to President Bush, rather than turn it all into a legal circus the way (big surprise) Edwards wanted.

I was tempted to quip that we could thank Kerry's French genes for the early surrender, but maybe he finally decided to show a modicum of class and act like a statesman instead of a politician. Just maybe.

[candles]

Brfore they start counting the outstanding votes let's check if they are actual votes, no double voting and that the person is a real person not a cartoon http://www.gopusa.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[ChristianBuckeyeMan]

Quote[/b] ]Brfore they start counting the outstanding votes let's check if they are actual votes, no double voting and that the person is a real person not a cartoon

I think we got it covered. I was a little concerned myself but on election day the poll workers were great, directing people where they needed to go and helping others who needed provisional ballots.

What I didn't like was the Dems in the parking lot handing out "sample ballots" with all the Dem choices listed. But they behaved themselves and didn't actually enter the polling area.

The Ohio Secretary of State is a staunch Republican and he promised to make sure that there would be no funny business.