In OH-15 Steve Stivers (R) leads Mary Jo Kilroy by 149 votes, with 27,000 provisional ballots to be counted. With that count about to begin, Stivers has sued to halt temporarily any processing of provisional ballots.
National Journal:
Stivers (R) ... is challenging OH Sec/State Jennifer Brunner's (D) directive to count provisional ballots that they say state law forbids. The lawsuit... says that provisional ballots that weren't signed and printed by the voter should be thrown out. Brunner's office directed that as long as voters can be confirmed as eligible, they should be counted whether or not they were signed and printed by the voter.
Columbus Dispatch:
Brunner had the case removed to federal court and consolidated with a 2-year-old case being handled by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley ... [who]
called for a 9 a.m. hearing Saturday on a request for a temporary order to halt any processing of provisional ballots until the dispute is resolved.
Background:
From the Akron Beacon Journal:
THE RACE: Republican Steve Stivers and Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy are locked in a tight race to replace nine-term Congresswoman Deborah Pryce in central Ohio.
THE COUNT: Stivers holds a 149 vote lead, but thousands of absentee and provisional ballots have not been counted. Results of the final tally should be known by Thanksgiving.
THE BALLOTS: The biggest amount of uncounted votes are provisional ballots. Almost all of the uncounted provisional votes just over 27,000 are in Franklin County, which leans Democratic.
From the Coshocton Tribune:
Election workers on Saturday [11/15] will begin tallying military and overseas absentee ballots in a close U.S. House race that will determine the breakdown of Ohio's congressional delegation. There are about 27,000 provisional ballots that need to be counted, too.
Brunner tiebreaker or court ruling Saturday to decide race:
More than 27,000 provisional ballots needed to call the closest congressional race in the country, will wait for either a court ruling Saturday or a tiebreaker Tuesday from Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
The Franklin County Board of Elections split along party lines in a stalemate tonight [11/13] that temporarily will delay counting those provisional ballots. But the board expects to still be able to reveal and certify the official election results on Nov. 25.
By then, it will have direction from either a court or Brunner. ...
The two Republican elections board members, backed by an opinion from [Republican] Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, want to disqualify about 1,000 provisional ballots they say are legally flawed. ...
The two Democratic members, backed by Brunner's opinion, argued that such oversights are poll-worker error because they didn't make sure ballot information envelopes were properly completed. They say the votes should be counted as long as the board can verify that the voter is properly registered.
"I believe it is not a fatal flaw," said William A. Anthony Jr., vice-chairman of the elections board and chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party. "We should be processing and allowing as many people as possible to vote."
Brunner will cast the tie-breaking vote unless the court intervenes.
Ballot-count suit could tip results:
The dispute involves what should be done with provisional ballots when voters fail to both print and sign their names on the ballot envelopes. ...
The suit seeks a court order that any provisional envelope must contain both the name and signature of the voter, and separately that a voter must have completed the identification section on the envelope.
At issue, in part, is what constitutes poll-worker error, which should not cause ballots to be disqualified.
Before the election, Brunner issued a 10-page directive spelling out how provisional ballots were to be handled as part of an order signed by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. in a separate case.
The judge's order said that "no provisional ballot cast by an eligible elector should be rejected because of a poll worker's failure to comply with duties mandated" by state law, such as a poll worker's failure to sign the envelope as required.
Brunner's directive says the ballots "may not be rejected for reasons that are attributable to poll-worker error."
Mary Jo Kilroy has a dedicated recount fund up and running and needs your help.
9:15 a.m. ET - Updated title to reflect the court's punctuality (heh). Does anybody reading this in Columbus have any information on this hearing? Let us know.
UPDATE:
The hearing occurred, and now we will wait until Monday morning for a ruling.
Ruling due Monday on judge's jurisdiction in provisional-ballot dispute
The fight over Franklin County's provisional ballots -- which might prove decisive in a close congressional race and two close Ohio House races -- goes on.
At the end of a hearing today, U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley said he will need until Monday morning to rule on whether he has the jurisdiction to consider issuing a temporary order halting the processing of provisional ballots.
If he rules that he does have jurisdiction, he will hear arguments Monday for and against the temporary order. If he rules that he does not, he will send the case back to the Ohio Supreme Court, where it was filed. ...
Assistant Ohio Attorney General Richard N. Coglianese, arguing today for Brunner, said that the federal court has jurisdiction because it has previously issued orders regarding provisional ballots. This case is related to those previous orders, he said.
Attorney John W. Zeiger, arguing for the two voters and Stivers' campaign, said the lawsuit was filed under an Ohio election statute, so the Ohio Supreme Court has jurisdiction and the federal court does not.
Marbley said he expected to make his decision on jurisdiction at 8:30 a.m. Monday.