Pepper led Mallory by just 146 votes

Elections specialist Sherry Poland checks out the results from the early counting in the mayoral primary on Sept. 13 at the Hamilton County Board of Elections. (Photo by Jeff Swinger/The Cincinnati Enquirer.)

The primary election balloting between Mark L. Mallory and David Pepper was even closer than the election night count suggested.

The Hamilton County Board of Elections performed the final count of ballots Saturday, including the 701 provisional and "walk-in" ballots cast on Sept. 13 and a small number of absentee ballots coming in from overseas.

Pepper picked up 182 votes in the final count. Mallory picked up 241. The final, semi-official count:

• Pepper: 13,493
• Mallory: 13,347
  

So what was a 215-vote Pepper lead is now a 146-vote lead. That's well within the margin that would require an automatic recount -- if it had an impact on the outcome. (Under Cincinnati's system, the top two finishers advance to the general election, so the exact order doesn't make a difference.)

Board of Elections Director John M. Williams expects to ask the board to certify the final results today.