Judge refuses to back county in attempt to stop recount

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal judge on Friday ruled against a county's attempt to stop a presidential election recount, likely setting the stage for a county-by-county recount in the coming weeks.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus denied the Delaware County Board of Elections' request to stop the recount. Sargus' ruling was a victory for candidates for the Green and Libertarian parties, which requested the recount.

But Sargus also ruled against the third party candidates' request for the recount to begin immediately, before the official count is certified Monday.

The effect of the ruling is that a recount will still occur but probably won't be over before Ohio's electors meet Dec. 13th.

A Delaware County judge last week ruled against the third party candidates' request, and Delaware County officials argued the recount was a waste of time and money that wouldn't change the results.

The significance of Sargus' ruling is that it prevented the Delaware County judge's ruling from becoming a precedent that could stop recounts in other counties, said Don McTigue, a lawyer representing the Kerry-Edwards campaign, which asked to be included in the third parties' case.

A review of counties' final election totals by The Associated Press Friday showed that John Kerry had 17,554 additional votes than unofficial election night tallies showed, which is not enough to trigger an automatic recount.