UPDATED 4:53 P.M.
PEKIN, Ill. – The final spot in District 3 for the Republican nomination for the Tazewell County Board has changed hands…for the time being.
County Clerk John Ackerman says 86 additional mail-in ballots were received and processed Thursday.
After the additional ballots were counted, Michael Harris now holds a three vote lead over Tammy Rich-Stimson. Rich-Stimson was up by one vote for the final spot after Election Night on Tuesday.
The current vote totals in the race as of 4:40 P.M. Thursday:
- Eric Schmidgall – 2304
- Bill Atkins – 1981
- Michael Harris – 1753
- Tammy Rich-Stimson – 1750
————————–
PEKIN, Ill. – A race for a Tazewell County Board seat in Tuesday’s primary shows that every vote counts.
Republican Michael Harris fell one vote short of taking the third spot in the Tazewell County Board District 3 race and moving on to the November general election.
Illinois is one of nine states in the nation that does not have a process for automatic recounts. Illinois is also one of three states where recounts are conducted only by court order.
The results from election night are not official until they are certified 14 days later, due to some mail-in ballots still coming in.
“It is up to the candidates to decide if they want to have a recount,” Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman tells 25 News. “They would have to ask that and bring that forward, and I don’t know if either of them would be interested in that at this point.”
Unlike some states, there is no set percentage of votes to trigger an automatic recount in Illinois.
During a recount, election officials look at 25% of ballots from all the precincts.
State Board of Elections spokesperson Matt Dietrich says county officials retest tabulators and rerun the ballots to make sure the count is accurate.
“It is premature to even start thinking about recounts, Dietrich says. “You’re talking about inspecting ballots manually, looking for problems on individual ballots to close a very small margin of loss. Some candidates decide it’s just not worth the cost in the legal system.”
Dietrich says ballots can be thrown out if there’s a question with a voter’s address or election registration, but adds that court proceedings can be lengthy.
If a candidate wants to challenge election results once they are certified, they have to do it by April 14. The candidate is also responsible for all legal fees tied to a recount.
Comments