Pryce or Kilroy? Outcome delayed for another week

Election workers needed more time to count provisional ballots.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- New rules for counting provisional ballots will delay the outcome of a closely watched congressional race until Nov. 27, about a week later than previously announced.
The extra time is needed to comply with an agreement reached Tuesday between Attorney General Jim Petro and organizations that challenged Ohio's new voter identification law, said Franklin County Elections Director Matthew Damschroder.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, a member of the House Republican leadership, leads Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy by 3,536 votes in the tally of ballots counted on Election Day last week.
About 38,500 absentee and provisional ballots in Franklin County remain uncounted. Of those, about 19,500 were cast in the race for central Ohio's 15th Congressional District.
More time needed
Damschroder said previously that final totals would be released Tuesday, but on Friday he said more time is needed for his employees to process provisional ballots based on the court ruling. He said the official count will now begin on Monday, rather than on Sunday, and that interim results will not be released throughout the week.
"Our main concern is getting everything correct and not making any mistakes," he said.
Election boards in two other counties in the disputed district expect to certify about 1,000 combined votes outstanding in the Pryce-Kilroy race early in the week. Madison County plans to certify its vote Monday, and Union County plans to certify its official totals Tuesday, election officials said.
In agreement
The conflict over voter ID arose on Election Day, when poll workers did not allow some voters with proper ID to cast regular ballots, instead forcing them to cast provisional ballots, which generally are not counted until a voter's eligibility is verified.
Under the agreement with state officials, approved by U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley, provisional ballots cast in error will be counted without any additional investigation into their eligibility.
The agreement also allows observers -- including members of the Republican and Democratic parties -- to oversee, but not interfere with, county elections workers as they review provisional ballots and determine whether they're eligible to be counted.
The Democratic and Republican observers will receive a list of provisional ballots the boards want to reject because of inadequate identification. The observers can challenge rejections, but the ultimate decision on whether a ballot can be counted lies with the county boards of elections.
Randy Borntrager, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party, said the party's observers are already in place and that he doesn't expect the party to mount additional challenges when the three county boards convene to certify their votes.
"The fact is that observers have very limited power. All they can do is take a look at what's going on," he said. "They can raise a question and say this should be counted. But the power lies with the boards. Obviously, we're hopeful that every vote's counted and we'll do our best to stop disenfranchisement wherever it is."
Follow the law
Meanwhile, the Kilroy campaign is not complaining about the new delay.
"We're fine with it," said spokeswoman Amanda Wurst. "We want to make sure that the count is accurate and thorough, and if that's the amount of time that they need then we're glad that they're taking the time."
The campaign launched a "Cure Your Vote" effort aimed at those who cast provisional ballots, urging them to get to their local election boards and provide any missing information that had been requested. The deadline for doing that was Friday.
Pryce spokesman George Rasley said that campaign also is not troubled by the extended schedule.
"Our position's always been from the get-go that if the Board of Elections follows the law, then Pryce wins. Ergo, our request is that they follow the law," he said. "I don't see any benefit to jockeying around. The whole idea is to have a fair count of valid ballots."