Early Scanning Requested Because Of Volume Of Absentee Ballots Expected
POSTED: 5:57 pm EST November 3, 2006
UPDATED: 6:21 pm EST November 3, 2006
CLEVELAND -- All 88 Ohio counties can start scanning absentee ballots before Election Day, a Cuyahoga County judge ordered Friday, overruling a state order that had banned early scanning.
The ruling by Common Pleas Judge Dan Gaul came after Cuyahoga County said it wanted to start scanning the ballots sooner than usual because of an expected crush due to a new law that allows anyone to vote absentee. The county, which includes Cleveland, is the state's most populous with more than 1 million registered voters.
Gaul's ruling states that elections boards in all counties can start scanning absentees at 7 a.m. Monday. Elections workers can scan the absentees into computers that will read oval marks on the paper ballots, but those votes cannot be counted before 7:31 p.m. Tuesday, after the polls have closed.
"We've got some problems in this country and in this county. We've also got some commonsense," Gaul said.
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