Official Count in Ohio Cuts Bush’s Margin of Victory

President Bush’s victory over Sen. John F. Kerry in Ohio was closer than the unofficial election night totals showed, but the change was not enough to trigger an automatic recount, according to county-by-county results released Friday.

Bush’s margin of victory in the state that put him over the top in his reelection bid was about 119,000 votes -- less than the unofficial margin of 136,000, the county election board figures showed.

The margin shrank primarily because of the addition of provisional ballots that were not counted on election day and were not included in the unofficial tally. Overseas ballots also were added to the count in all 88 counties.

About a quarter of Kerry’s gain was the result of an electronic voting system glitch that gave Bush 3,893 extra votes in a suburban Columbus precinct. The extra votes had been included in the unofficial count but aren’t part of the official tally.

Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell is expected to certify the results Monday.

Bush’s margin of victory was about 2 percentage points, not close enough to require an automatic recount. That happens when the difference is 0.25% of the total vote or less.

Bush beat Kerry nationally by 3 percentage points.

Out of 156,977 provisional ballots checked, 121,598 were pronounced valid and were accepted, meaning about one in five was thrown out, according to an Associated Press tabulation. Provisional votes are cast when poll workers cannot immediately confirm that a voter was properly registered.

It is not known how many provisional ballots were cast for Bush and how many were cast for Kerry because most county election boards did not break down the votes. Most boards combined provisional ballots with overseas ballots and those cast on election day, then counted the entire batch.

The Kerry campaign and two third-party candidates are seeking a recount in Ohio. The Green and Libertarian parties said they had raised enough money to cover the cost. The Kerry campaign said it was not disputing the outcome of the presidential race but wanted to make sure any recount was “done accurately and completely.”

A Delaware County judge last week sided with elections officials who argued that a recount was a waste of time and money, but a federal judge overturned the decision Friday.

However, U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus ruled against the third party candidates’ request for the recount to begin immediately. A recount probably won’t occur until after Ohio’s electors meet Dec. 13.

The narrowing of Bush’s margin increases the possibility that the election results could be changed, the Green Party said. “Who knows what else will turn up when we examine the discarded ballots,” Green spokesman Blair Bobier said.

Many county leaders think spending an estimated $1.5 million on a recount would be a waste of money.

“If we thought the recount would change the outcome of the election, we might feel differently,” said Larry Long, executive director of the state’s County Commissioners Assn.