DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa has yet to declare a winner in the presidential election -- even though Democrat John Kerry has conceded the election to President George W. Bush.
Secretary of State Chet Culver told KCCI a winner might not be officially announced for Iowa until next week.
Culver said there was a record voter turnout, with more than 1.5 million Iowans casting their ballots. That means about two-thirds of the state's registered voters cast ballots.
With all the state's 2,079 precincts reporting, Bush has 50 percent to 49 percent for Kerry. If the outcome stands, it would mark the first time Iowa has voted Republican in a presidential race since 1984.
But there are still thousands of provisional and absentee ballots to be counted. Culver said there were more than 13,000 provisional ballots cast in 90 counties, and that number could grow. There's also up to 50,000 absentee ballots that were mailed but not returned yet.
"There's a chance it could change the outcome," Culver said. "Our job is not to predict how those 50,000 votes are going to break, we just count them."
Culver expects the results to be final next Tuesday.
A win for Bush or Democrat John Kerry will not change the outcome in the election, but Culver said it's important to have a correct tally in Iowa.
"We have to be very patient to make sure every vote is counted and counted accurately, and we protect every Iowan's civil rights and voting rights," Culver said.
Agreed, Fox had NM called for Bush now. Only Iowa is left to be called now.
