Results of the Nov. 6 general election were certified on Nov. 17, but at least 65 of the state's 159 counties didn't send out absentee ballots for the Dec. 4 runoff until this week, according to the federal lawsuit filed Thursday. Since absentee ballots generally must be received by the time polls close on Election Day, that left some would-be absentee voters with less than a week to get their ballots back to election officials.