Getty How many provisional and absentee ballots remain in the Balderson vs. O'Connor Ohio special election?
Republican Troy Balderson maintained a slim lead with 100 percent of precincts reporting in the Ohio special election for the 12th Congressional District seat.
However, there are thousands of absentee and provisional ballots remaining in the race, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. Just how many absentee and provisional ballots are there remaining in the race?
In an August 7, 2018 news release issued just before 11 p.m. on election night, Secretary of State Jon Husted reported the following in Ohio 12:
“County boards of elections reported that 3,435 provisional ballots were cast and there were 5,048 outstanding absentee ballots. Under state law, boards of elections cannot begin counting these ballots until the 11 th day after the election, August 18, when boards may begin the official canvass.”
Husted also reported that “with 100 percent of precincts now reporting, unofficial results show 202,738 ballots cast with 37.23 percent turnout in the 12th Congressional District Special General Election.”
With 100 percent of the vote in, the unofficial election results were given by the Ohio Secretary of State as follows:
Troy Balderson (R) 101,574 50.15%
Joe Manchik (G) 1,127 0.56%
Danny O’Connor (D) 99,820 49.29%
Thus, Balderson, a state legislator, was ahead by 0.85 percentage points, or 1,754 votes, with all precincts counted.
Trump endorsed Balderson and some have painted the special election as a bellwether for the midterms and voter opinions on the president, even though the special election was only to fill the last few months of a term in a vacated seat, meaning the candidates will meet again in November. The president tweeted about the race:
When I decided to go to Ohio for Troy Balderson, he was down in early voting 64 to 36. That was not good. After my speech on Saturday night, there was a big turn for the better. Now Troy wins a great victory during a very tough time of the year for voting. He will win BIG in Nov.
O’Connor did not concede the race:
“We are in a tight ballgame”: Democrat Danny O’Connor addresses supporters at election HQ, amid extremely close Ohio special election race against Republican state Senator Troy Balderson t.co/cIuiZgPkHh
Recount Rules in Ohio
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, these are the margins needed to trigger an automatic recount in Ohio:
0.25% or less for statewide office
0.5% for other offices
You can read Ohio election code here.
Ohio code reads: “If the number of votes cast in any district election for the declared winning nominee, candidate, question, or issue does not exceed the number of votes cast for the declared defeated nominee, candidate, question, or issue by a margin of one-half of one per cent or more of the total vote, the secretary of state shall order a recount which shall be conducted as provided in sections 3515.04 and 3515.05 of the Revised Code.”
Because the Balderson and O’Connor race is not a statewide office – it’s a Congressional district race – the race would need to be within 0.5 percent to trigger the mandatory recount.
Even if a mandatory recount were not triggered, there is a procedure in Ohio through which a candidate can request a recount anyway. “But a losing candidate can also request a recount if the difference between votes isn’t small enough to set off an automatic recount. To do this, the presumed loser has to request a recount through a written application,” Vox reported.
In a facts sheet on Ohio recount rules, the American Civil Liberties Union wrote, “If the margin of victory is larger, any losing candidate may request a recount; or any group of five or more voters may request a recount for an issue. Applicants must file in writing, at the Board of Elections (BOE) of every county in which they want a recount, within five days after the initial results are announced, and pay $50 for each precinct in which they want a recount.”
The Ohio district is normally considered a safe seat for Republicans as it hasn’t elected a Democrat since the 1980s, according to Vox. It’s also a district that Trump handily won in the 2016 presidential race. The polls had predicted a close race.
There was a requested recount in the Republican primary for the special election.
You can read more about the special election here.