Official: Ohio to know winner in presidential race

Associated Press

Updated: Nov 1, 2012 5:15 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's elections chief says he expects the swing state will be able to declare a winner in the presidential race on election night.

Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO'-sted) said Thursday he believes there will be enough information to say with confidence who won Ohio on Tuesday. He made the comments at a briefing for reporters about election procedures.

With 18 electoral votes Ohio is at the center of both candidates' campaign strategies. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are both making a strong play for the state.

A certain number of ballots still won't get counted until 10 days after the election, as required by law.

Those include so-called provisional ballots cast by voters without proper ID. Husted couldn't estimate how many that could be.

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