OH-15: Kilroy, Stivers may be in for long wait (Kilroy trails by 146)

[democraticinsurgent]

Thursday, November 6, 2008 3:25 AM
By James Nash and Jim Siegel
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

In the 15th, Republican state Sen. Steve Stivers clung to a 146-vote lead last night over Democratic Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy out of nearly 290,000 votes counted in the district. The 15th covers western Franklin County and all of Madison and Union counties.

Yet to be counted are provisional ballots, which won't be tallied for 10 days; the military and overseas absentee ballots postmarked by the time the polls closed Tuesday and received by Nov. 14; any domestic absentee ballots postmarked by Monday that are received by Nov. 14; as well as any of the estimated 5,000 absentee ballots with errors that voters correct by Nov. 14.

Kilroy's campaign predicted that those ballots would melt away Stivers' lead. Provisional ballots, often cast by younger voters and new residents, tend to skew Democratic.

"We are confident that when the Board of Elections completes their work that Mary Jo Kilroy will be declared the winner given the number of ballots that have yet to be counted in Franklin County," Kilroy spokesman Brad Bauman said in a written statement in the afternoon.

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/06/copy/LIMBO.ART_ART_11-06-08_A1_4KBQDFJ.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

[Botany]

1. Kilroy was 7 to 8 points up going into the vote

more than enough "stuff" happened to steal the
race from her.

[democraticinsurgent]

2. something fishy

yes, there seems to be some major weirdness in Ohio. Way low turnout, just like in Alaska. Makes NO sense. I posted in another thread that I wondered if this was indicative of inflated turnout in 2004 featuring major padding for Bush and fellow travelers...

Still I'm hopeful that there are more Kilroy votes than Stivers votes in what's yet to be counted. Fingers crossed!

[Botany]

3. I watched a poll and their was a 9% undervote there

9% of all the people who came in signed the poll books, got the permission slips,
voted on the E.S.S. i-votronic machines*, and got an I voted today sticker did not
even record that they voted at all. The 2004 vote padding in Ohio is not even in
doubt .... In Miami County 16,000 votes were added after the machines were turned
off and voting was over .... at the exact same % as the earlier vote that was recorded ....
down to .01% .... a statiscal impossibility.


* We could not get them to vote paper .... inner city and they thought that the paper
was the same as a provisional ballot ala Ken Blackwell 2004