20 Crucial Electoral Votes May Be Stuck in Limbo

Ohio emerged as the key battleground late yesterday, as the race for president narrowed to depend heavily on the outcome of balloting that will not be known for as many as three weeks and could be the focus of intense litigation.

With 20 electoral votes and an estimated 5.8 million voters swarming the polls, the blue-collar bastion turned out to be as closely fought as many Democrats and Republicans had predicted. The state has lost more than 200,000 jobs over the past four years and has historically proved crucial to the election of GOP presidents.

Cleveland residents were among those who waited hours to vote. Provisional ballots will not be tallied until Nov. 13. (David I. Andersen -- Plain Dealer Via AP) Photos: Bush Wins President Bush claims victory after John F. Kerry concedes the 2004 presidential election. • Bush's Speech: Video | Transcript • Kerry's Speech: Video | Transcript • Video: 2004 Election Rewind ___ Election Results ___ Exit Polls by State:   Results by Zip Code:   Results by State:   • 50 State Election Roundup • Comparison of 2004 and 2000 • Amendments Defining Marriage ___ Electee Profiles ___ • The New House • Freshman Senators • New Governors  U.S. President Updated 2:09 AM ET Precincts:0%  Candidate Votes %    Bush * (R)   60,693,281 51%    Kerry (D)   57,355,978 48%    Other   1,107,393 1%  Full Results Source: AP SEARCH: Related searches: election president electoral crucial speech gipoco.com is neither affiliated with the authors of this page or responsible for its contents. This is a safe-cache copy of the original web site. gipoco.com is neither affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its contents. This is a safe-cache copy of the original web site.