# Ask the Ohio provisional voter! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 3, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740 "2004-11-03T13:20:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/1 "2004-11-03T13:20:19Z")
Sorry, I just never had the whole world waiting to count my vote before. It’s kind of humbling, yet exhilerating at the same time. Ask away. ---
**Author:** ![Roches](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc8723/32.png) [@Roches](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roches)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/2 "2004-11-03T13:36:05Z")
This should be a lot more interesting than ‘Ask the Hanging Chad’… So why did they make you vote provisionally? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/3 "2004-11-03T13:43:34Z")
For the benefit of folks who may have just joined us, what makes your vote “provisional”? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/4 "2004-11-03T13:45:40Z")
So how does it feel to know that half the country thinks it is too much trouble to count your vote? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/5 "2004-11-03T13:51:01Z")
Have you voted provisionally in prior elections? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/6 "2004-11-03T13:52:30Z")
So what’s the deal with Toledo anyways? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/7 "2004-11-03T14:03:07Z")
Who’d you vote for? ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/8 "2004-11-03T14:08:47Z")
Why is this in GQ??? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/9 "2004-11-03T14:14:29Z")
I’m out of my home county for personal reasons, and I requested an absentee ballot. It never showed up. So I took half a day off to drive back down to my home precint and vote. The poll worker said that I was marked down as voting “absentee” but said that if I called the board of elections and followed the instructions they might give me a provisional ballot. So I called right then (thank God I just got a cel phone!) and they said to fill out the form on the envelope, sign the dotted line and vote. I got home at 10:30 pm and guess what was in my mailbox? My Ballot! I left it sealed and if I need to show proof that I did not vote twice I suppose that would help. My question is… Would they ever contact me to say my vote was disqualified? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/10 "2004-11-03T14:16:06Z")
> [@drhess](#): > > Why is this in GQ??? :rolleyes: I did not know the right forum for “Ask the…” threads, I hope I did not distress you too much. My apologies. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/11 "2004-11-03T14:46:36Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > So how does it feel to know that half the country thinks it is too much trouble to count your vote? I don’t agree with that assessment. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/12 "2004-11-03T14:48:17Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > Have you voted provisionally in prior elections? No. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/13 "2004-11-03T14:54:00Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Who’d you vote for? Bush. Ironically I’ve heard lots of talk from democrats on today’s news who are worried that the republicans will challenge the validity of provisional ballots, which they hope to be more for Kerry than Bush. ---
**Author:** ![jester21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/14 "2004-11-03T14:54:02Z")
…I think Kerry should concede the election… AND they should still count the votes… it would seem kinda silly not to… I don’t believe Kerry has a snowball’s chance of winning… but if by some miracle it was actually close, he could ‘get back in the fight’ when the counting proves it’d be worth the headache of 24 hour Team Coverage on CNN/FOX and every other half-baked network. ---
**Author:** ![jester21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/15 "2004-11-03T14:57:04Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Bush. > > Ironically I’ve heard lots of talk from democrats on today’s news who are worried that the republicans will challenge the validity of provisional ballots, which they hope to be more for Kerry than Bush. btw… it’s the validity of the ballots that MAKES them provisional in the first place! and what are the odds of +90% of the prov. ballots ALL being in favor of Kerry??? is that to say Kerry voters are much more likely to be morons who didn’t register properly? Statisticly it should be pretty much 50/50 which means Bush still wins. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/16 "2004-11-03T15:05:06Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > For the benefit of folks who may have just joined us, what makes your vote “provisional”? well, from [here](http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031778927052&path=!nationworld&s=1037645509161) : > [@](#): > > Such ballots arise from questions over the legal eligibility of the people who showed up to cast them, and state rules require that elections officials hold them for at least 11 days while investigating whether the voters were properly certified. > > In Ohio, provisional ballots can be cast in a variety of situations in which a question arises about a voter’s status at the polls. Frequently, it happens when someone has moved and is not on the rolls at the polling place where he or she shows up to vote. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/17 "2004-11-03T15:07:25Z")
**Jester21** , you are hitting the nail right on the head. ---
**Author:** ![jester21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/18 "2004-11-03T15:09:04Z")
the person directly in front of me had to vote Provisionally… I didn’t stick around to see how much of a hassle it was. And in MI, Kerry won handily (i still don’t understand how they considered MI a “battleground state”… MI is one of the most liberal states in the midwest). ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/19 "2004-11-03T15:40:26Z")
> [@jester21](#): > > And in MI, Kerry won handily (i still don’t understand how they considered MI a “battleground state”… MI is one of the most liberal states in the midwest). Really? Been to Grand Rapids lately? LOL In MI, it is on the voter to contact the clerk if he later wants to find out how his provisional ballot was handled. Every person I took through the provisional ballot process was given a tear-off receipt with the clerk’s name, phone number, and email on it. It seems states handle provisional ballots differently–I know in the weeks leading up to the election our state had a variety of rulings on how we’d do things. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740/20 "2004-11-03T16:55:04Z")
> [@jester21](#): > > the person directly in front of me had to vote Provisionally… I didn’t stick around to see how much of a hassle it was. > > And in MI, Kerry won handily (i still don’t understand how they considered MI a “battleground state”… MI is one of the most liberal states in the midwest). _What?!?_ Here’re the results from CNN: Kerry, 2,464,624, 51% Bush; 2,302,731; 48% That’s not really “handily” I would think. Typically, if you look at the county by county divisions, you’ll see the most blue eminating from the Detroit area outward, where it eventually peters out. No, Michigan is decidedly a split state. Hell, this is the first time we’ve had a Democrat governer since before Engler. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-ohio-provisional-voter/272740.md?page=2)