Provisional, absentee votes could delay win by 10 days

WITH any victory expected to be razor thin in Ohio and the chance that a winner might not be known for days, if not weeks, it is possible that the vote difference between US President George W Bush and Senator John Kerry will be smaller than the number of provisional ballots cast, and that matters because such ballots aren’t counted for at least 10 days after the poll.

Provisional ballots are used by voters who have moved, don’t appear on registration rolls or are told they are not eligible. But the ballots are held while workers confirm eligibility, and they’re not counted until county boards begin their official count on November 13-17.

For the first time, the state will report how many provisional ballots were cast on election night,