It will be weeks before we know who won this Cleveland election

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Election day has come and gone, but the race to be the next councilman in Ward 12 is still ongoing.

Tanmay Shah held a seven-vote lead over incumbent Danny Kelly at Tuesday night’s end. But there are provisional ballots left to count and mail-in ballots that haven’t been returned that could swing the election.

Voters won’t have a final answer until the week of Thanksgiving, when the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is scheduled to certify the election.

Kelly has not conceded, telling cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that he and his opponent are in a “waiting game.” Shah, meanwhile, is celebrating and called his seven-vote lead a victory.

Shah led Kelly 1,460 to 1,453 Tuesday night after election day votes, early in-person votes and mail-in ballots were counted. Si