08-09-2018, 02:28 PM
Yesterday an additional 588 votes were counted and O'Connor now trails by just 1,564 – out of more than 203,000 cast. State law triggers an automatic recount if the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percentage points – a threshold that now stands at 1,015.
It's good to see that there are proper audits and processes in place to ensure integrity of votes cast. Franklin County voters use automated systems to cast their ballots, with each voter given a 'personal electronic ballot' (PEB) to plug into a voting machine.
After polls close, election officials use a 'master PEB' to collect and store the totals from each machine, which are later checked against each machine's flash drive. Hard-copy printouts and yet another digital copy on a computer at the polling place serve as additional redundant safeguards and help officials spot missing data later.
One voting location 'had two master PEB’s, only one of which was read and processed into the tabulation system on Election Night,' county officials said. That's why the 588 votes were initially missing. The routine audit caught the oversight quickly.
Ohio law prohibits officials from making their county-by-county totals final until the 11th day following an election. That's because absentee ballots are counted if they're postmarked by Election Day and arrive by the 10th day afterward.
Provisional ballots, too, have to remain sealed until August 18. Otherwise Ohioans who request absentee ballots and also show up to vote in person could be counted twice. Voters in those situations are given provisional ballots on Election Day.
Green Party candidate Joe Manchik snagged 1,127 votes on Tuesday, more than enough to have put Balderson's margin of victory over Democrat Danny O’Connor well into that range.
The 12th district, split between suburban Columbus and more rural areas, has been represented by a Republican since the early 1980s. Trump carried it by 11 percentage points in the 2016 presidential race.
Democrats are optimistic that losing by such a small margin or winning this traditionally Republican seat is a good sign for the Dems' ability to take back the House of Representatives in the November midterms. Many of the midterms elections are in districts that are less reliably red than Ohio's 12th District.
Refs:
https://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf...y_found_12th_congressional.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...votes.html
It's good to see that there are proper audits and processes in place to ensure integrity of votes cast. Franklin County voters use automated systems to cast their ballots, with each voter given a 'personal electronic ballot' (PEB) to plug into a voting machine.
After polls close, election officials use a 'master PEB' to collect and store the totals from each machine, which are later checked against each machine's flash drive. Hard-copy printouts and yet another digital copy on a computer at the polling place serve as additional redundant safeguards and help officials spot missing data later.
One voting location 'had two master PEB’s, only one of which was read and processed into the tabulation system on Election Night,' county officials said. That's why the 588 votes were initially missing. The routine audit caught the oversight quickly.
Ohio law prohibits officials from making their county-by-county totals final until the 11th day following an election. That's because absentee ballots are counted if they're postmarked by Election Day and arrive by the 10th day afterward.
Provisional ballots, too, have to remain sealed until August 18. Otherwise Ohioans who request absentee ballots and also show up to vote in person could be counted twice. Voters in those situations are given provisional ballots on Election Day.
Green Party candidate Joe Manchik snagged 1,127 votes on Tuesday, more than enough to have put Balderson's margin of victory over Democrat Danny O’Connor well into that range.
The 12th district, split between suburban Columbus and more rural areas, has been represented by a Republican since the early 1980s. Trump carried it by 11 percentage points in the 2016 presidential race.
Democrats are optimistic that losing by such a small margin or winning this traditionally Republican seat is a good sign for the Dems' ability to take back the House of Representatives in the November midterms. Many of the midterms elections are in districts that are less reliably red than Ohio's 12th District.
Refs:
https://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf...y_found_12th_congressional.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...votes.html