Deadlock as vote echoes 2000

2004-11-03 10:35

Columbus, Ohio - The key Midwest state of Ohio plunged the US presidential election into chaos on Wednesday, as polling returns suggested a mathematical quagmire that could hold the key to the White House.

With the television networks split over calling the vote for either President George W Bush or John Kerry, the battleground state looked to be heading for the same drawn-out nightmare that befell Florida in 2000.

A senior aide to President Bush's re-election campaign said early on Wednesday that Bush had won Ohio and that Democratic rival John Kerry was "delusional" for not conceding defeat.

"The Kerry campaign is delusional about their chances of overturning the vote of the people of Ohio," Bush campaign communications director Nicolle Devenish said.

Fox and NBC called Ohio for Bush, giving him the state's 20 electoral votes and taking him agonisingly close to outright victory.

But CNN said Ohio was "too close to call" and CBS and ABC gave no immediate verdict.

The Kerry camp rejected the Fox and NBC projections and refused to concede the state.

With returns available from the vast majority of Ohio precincts, Bush was leading his Democratic challenger by around 130 000 votes, but Democrats insisted a definitive result rested on as many as 250 000 provisional votes.

Counting of the provisional votes - ballots cast but subject to verification of the voter's eligibility - would not begin for 11 days.

As it became clear that his state was caught in the full glare of the electoral spotlight, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell sought to calm the situation.

"I tell everybody, just take a deep breath and relax. We can't predict what the results are going to be," Blackwell told CNN.

Blackwell, a Republican, said under state law, election officials here would begin counting the outstanding provisional ballots 11 days from Tuesday, on November 13.

"We know how to get the job done and have a very transparent process where people can see how those votes are being handled in a bi-partisan way," Blackwell said.

"At the end of the day, we are in a strong position because we have a strong and tried and tested system that has worked for us in the past," he added.

Identified before the election as one of three key states that could swing the deadlocked contest one way or the other, Ohio witnessed heavy turnout on Tuesday with many voters casting their ballots hours after polling officially closed.

Under Ohio law, any voter in line before the 19:30 close was entitled to cast a vote.

A state with two faces, Ohio has one of the country's largest industrial bases as well as a large rural region that covers four-fifths of the land.

It is also one of the most densely-populated states, counting more than 11.4 million residents who concentrate primarily around large cities like Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Akron.

- AFP