but the boots on the ground, the organization, the social networking, the due diligence of the democrats have kept sandy pasch within striking distance, and with 67% of the vote she leads right now with just over 23,000 votes to 21,000 votes. and john nichols, the absentee vote obviously is going to be very important. but we really don't know exactly what the full number is on the absentee ballots. >> we don't. but can you imagine, this ed? after all of this. after all of this we might come down to a contested unsettled result in one race. >> and just for our viewers, again, what is the state law for a recount, whether it be a general election or a recall? >> same thing. if it's under half a percent, the state pays for the recount, and it's an official recount done by the local officials. if it's over half a percent, then the candidate has to pay. that won't frankly be a problem. but the fact is what we're really interested in now is getting all these votes reported and finding out just how close this race is.