Ohio recount plan could take election into overtime

CINCINNATI -- Election Day could launch election month in Ohio, a weeks-long period in which deadlines for counting provisional or absentee votes and, if necessary, for a recount could delay the outcome of the presidential race until early December.

If there is a recount of the presidential race -- triggered by the victorious candidate winning by less than one-fourth of 1 percent of the total Ohio vote -- state officials would have to shorten some timetables specified in state law to meet the deadline.

Under Ohio election codes, Secretary of State Jon Husted has until Dec. 7 to certify the statewide results. Five days later, a recount could begin Dec. 12. Both dates, however, could be moved up -- and would have to be if a particularly close race mandates a recount.

In the 2008 presidential election, nearly 5.8 million Ohioans voted. Assuming the turnout is 6 million this year, which is nearly 52 percent of Ohio's population, a recount would be required if the winning margin is less than 15,000 votes -- a figure bigger than the winning edge in 1976, when Democrat Jimmy Carter defeated President Gerald Ford by only 11,116 votes out of nearly 4.1 million cast.

Husted said while some races may remain undecided, he expects the winners in the presidential and other major statewide contests to be known by Wednesday morning. That hinges, however, on the width of the gap that separates President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, and whether the potentially hundreds of thousands of provisional and last-minute absentee ballots -- which will not be counted until at least mid-November -- could close it.

Even without a recount, those provisional and absentee ballots could keep the election in doubt until they are counted starting Nov. 17.

Four years ago, about 207,00 provisional votes -- required when a voter's eligibility is questioned at the polls -- were cast in Ohio. That number could grow this year as a result of a new state program in which every registered voter received an absentee application. That's because anyone who requested an absentee ballot but did not use it, will have to vote provisionally at the polls. As of Oct. 26, the most recent date for which statewide figures are available, about 370,000 voters fell into that category.

Tens of thousands of absentee ballots also may arrive at boards of elections statewide after Election Day. Provided they were postmarked by Monday's deadline, they, too, will be counted after Nov. 17.

The resulting pile of uncounted ballots not only would keep a race as close as the Carter-Ford campaign in play, but it also could even affect the outcome of a contest comparable to 2004, when President George W. Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry in Ohio by about 118,000 votes.

If those mid-November vote tabulations demand a recount, it must under Ohio law be completed "not later than six days before the time fixed under federal law for the meeting of ... presidential electors." Electors in each state this year will meet Dec. 17, creating a Dec. 11 deadline for finishing the recount -- one day before the other section of the law says it could begin.

"There are just too many variables to say exactly when certain things would happen or when it would be completed," said Husted spokesman Matt McClellan. "We can make adjustments to the schedule if necessary."

Several options could shorten the post-election timetable, McClellan explained.

Although Dec. 7 is the date by which Husted must certify the result, that could occur sooner. Ohio's 88 county boards of elections face a Nov. 27 deadline for completing their official counts, so the secretary of state conceivably could make his certification only a day or two later.

In addition, the five-day waiting period for starting a recount may be waived by both candidates. If either Obama or Romney needs Ohio's 18 electoral votes for victory, there would be tremendous national pressure to expedite the recount.

"In the interest of getting this done, I presume both sides would waive the waiting period," said Hamilton County Democratic Party chairman Tim Burke, who also chairs the county elections board.

If that happens, a recount theoretically could begin as early as Nov. 28, leaving two weeks to complete it in time to comply with the electors' meeting schedule.

Key dates that will govern how Ohio's presidential vote becomes official

Tuesday, Nov. 6 -- Election Day. Absentee ballots dropped off at county boards of elections -- not precinct polling places -- by the close of the polls at 7:30 p.m. will be counted. Provisional votes cast at the polls will be set aside for 10 days until eligibility issues have been resolved.

Friday, Nov. 16 -- Absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 5 must be received by county election boards to be included in the official count.

Saturday, Nov. 17 -- First day that boards of elections may begin the official canvass of the Nov. 6 election.

Wednesday, Nov. 21 -- County election boards must begin their official canvass no later than this day.

Tuesday, Nov. 27 -- Election boards must complete official canvass.

Friday, Dec. 7 -- Secretary of state's deadline for certification of official results, which could occur earlier. A recount normally begins five days after certification, but if candidates waive the waiting period, it could start sooner.

Tuesday, Dec. 11 -- Recount of presidential election must be completed.

Monday, Dec. 17 -- Ohio's Electoral College electors meet to cast votes for president and vice president.

By Barry M. Horstman, The Cincinnati Enquirer