Ohio's elections chief has sided with fellow members of the Republican party in breaking a tie vote over counting ballots in a disputed 2010 juvenile court election.
Secretary of State Jon Husted on Tuesday agreed that the Hamilton County Board of Elections in southwest Ohio should appeal a Feb. 8 court order requiring it to count hundreds of provisional ballots.
The Republican in the race holds a 23-vote lead over the Democrat, and the board's Democrats want the disputed votes tallied. The board's two Republicans say the ballots aren't eligible.
A federal judge ordered the ballots counted. She said poll worker error caused votes to be cast in the wrong precincts even though voters were at the right polling location.