Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell said it would take 11 days for the final result to be declared in Ohio. The elections are now heavily hinged on the midwest battleground with Bush needing some 20 odd numbers to reach the magic figure of 270 to retain his position.
"I tell everybody, just take a deep breath and relax. We can't predict what the results are going to be," Blackwell, the state's top election official, told CNN.
Blackwell said that under state law, Ohio election officials would begin counting outstanding provisional ballots 11 days from today on Nov 13.
Many provisional ballots have been casted by military members serving overseas, he said. "We're not going to start counting those (provisional) ballots until the 11th day after the election," Blackwell said.
Two television networks have said that President George W Bush has won the state. But Senator John Kerry's campaign has refused to concede defeat saying that there are still 250,000 votes to be counted.
Victory in Ohio would put the Republican president on the verge of re-election. "The vote count in Ohio has not been completed. There are more than 250,000 votes remaining to be counted. We believe when they are, John Kerry will win Ohio," said Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill in a statement.
More from rediff