Democratic challenger Mary Jo Kilroy is keeping the pressure on election officials to win her bid for Congress. Pryce has declared victory. But Kilroy will not concede. Thursday) Kilroy held a rally to ensure all votes are counted in the state's 15th district.
Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy wants to make sure all provisional and absentee votes are counted in the race for the 15th Congressional seat. Kilroy, along with Ohio State University College Democrats and area voters, rallied at the Ohio Union to draw attention to the issue. Kilroy said she is not giving up on the race until every vote is counted.
"We will not concede until that happens because when every vote is counted you will have a new representative in Ohio's 15th district," Kilroy said.
Current figures show Kilroy trailing incumbent US Congresswoman Deborah Pryce by about 3,500 votes. There are roughly 21,000 bsentee and provisional ballots left to be counted, and Kilroy needs about 58 percent to win the election.
Pryce campaign communication director, George Rasley, thinks Kilroy's efforts are futile.
"Based on our analysis of the absentees, they'll break our way. Kilroy is basically just blowing smoke the provisional ballots because, according to the board of elections, there is no cluster of provisional ballots near the campus precincts," Rasley said.
Kilroy would have to win by a higher margin with the provisional ballots than she did with the regular ballots to overcome the deficit. Kilroy has 51 percent of the vote in Franklin County where most of the provisional ballots were cast.
James Hull votes at an OSU precinct. Hull said he had to vote provisionally because of a mix up with his absentee ballot.
"I'm pretty fearful my vote won't be counted just because of the situation I was presented with. I just want it to be fair and I think that my vote, although it's one vote, can help this election and it just concerns me greatly," Hull said.
Nancy Wasserman is from German Village. Wasserman's a Kilroy supporter and a poll worker. She said she is fearful all the absentee and provisional ballots that could help Kilroy win the election will not be counted.
"Even people came to the booths with their absentee ballots that hadn't been turned in. And 20 people were provisional voters. So I have no idea how they can say who one this election," Wasserman said.
Kilroy promised not to give up.
"We will promise you that this campaign is going to fight for the rights of those voters who were forced to vote provisionally," Kilroy said.
Rasley said Pryce is the preliminary winner, and he said Kilroy should concede. But Kilroy is determined she will go to Congress.
"I'm not sure why Kilroy thinks she has a lock on the campus vote. This is all just straight from the democrats' Florida playbook, and at the end of the day, not-the-congresswoman Kilroy is going to join not-the-president Gore and not-the-president Kerry in pursuing this strategy," Rasley said.
The Kilroy campaign brought in attorneys to assist voters who cast provisional ballots.