Would ranked choice absentee ballots have allowed Santorum to win the Ohio primary? The gap between Romney and Santorum was less than 8000 votes, and Perry and Huntsman combined received 13,000 votes. It’s a very interesting intellectual exercise to wonder how many of those ballots were cast absentee, and how many of those voters would have chosen Santorum (Perry voter?) and Romney (Huntsman voters?) as their second choice.