MiddletownJournal.com

HAMILTON — Election officials say long lines and new rules could cause a lengthy wait before Ohioans will know on — or after — Tuesday who won local and national races.

Though exit polls and partial results may give an early sense of who will win the presidential race, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner predicts statewide results won't be in until after midnight Wednesday, Nov. 5, in an election one of her aides suggests will have a "potentially historic" turnout.

"It concerns me that we will not be able to produce election results possibly Tuesday night," said Butler County Board of Elections Director Betty McGary.

There are many reasons results could be delayed, even barring an accident or catastrophe.

Polls close at 7:30 p.m., but the law allows anyone in line at that time to vote, regardless of how long the line is.

If a polling place is kept open late by a court order — which has happened in recent elections — voters at that polling place will use provisional ballots. The court order may also prevent every county in the state from releasing results until all voting statewide is complete.

Provisional ballots also were used by anyone who registered and voted the same day. And they will be used by anyone who doesn't bring the right identification to the polls or isn't on the voter registration list — for any reason — at the polling place.

These ballots aren't counted until after election night.

At polling places kept open late, ballot cards will be left in the voting machines, and the cards and machines together must be transmitted to the board of elections for counting under a new directive issued by the secretary of state.

Another issue that could slow the vote count on election night is a new rule allowing anyone to request a paper ballot on Election Day. This followed concerns raised by Brunner about the security of voting machines.

These paper ballots are run through a machine individually, so they are counted much slower than ballot cards.