URBANA – All around Illinois on Tuesday, local authorities certified results from the April 6 local elections. Provisional and late-arriving mail-in ballots had an impact on some close races, but not others.
For instance, no additional ballots were added when the Danville Election Commission finalized the results of the Ward 7 Danville City Council race. The result remained the same, 181 votes for Alderman Darren York, and 180 votes for Kaylan Huber.
Huber, an attorney, says she’s filed for a discovery recount in her race against York, a rehabilitation counselor, who was appointed to the city council seat in January, to succeed Steve Foster.
“The Discovery Recount is an opportunity for me, as well as my opponent or any other member of the community, to view all of the ballots cast,” wrote Huber on her campaign Facebook page. “Depending on any issues with ballots, applications, etc., I can make a more informed decision on whether to file an Election Contest.”
Voter turnout in the city of Danville was low, at just 10.71%.
Meanwhile, in Champaign County, where the voter turnout was 13.41%, two close contests were affected by late-arriving ballots.
In Savoy, village trustee Jan Carter Niccum finished ahead of fellow incumbent A. J. Ruggieri by seven votes, for the third available at-large seat on the Savoy Village Board. The initial election night count had them tied, at 380 votes apiece. But the final tally put Carter Niccum ahead, 430 to 423, reflecting the addition of 93 additional ballots counted after April 6.
Ruggieri said he was disappointed by the outcome, but will explore the possibility of a recount with Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons.
“I do plan on talking with the clerk more to see what processes there might be in place to potentially look at a recount,” said Ruggieri, “or look at mail-in ballots that weren’t validated at the signature stage.”
The other two village board seats on the Savoy ballot were won by Larry Kanfer (679 votes) and Heather J. Mangian (555 votes).
Another close contest involved the Sub-District 3 seat on the Urbana School Board. Former Champaign County Board member Connie Dillard-Myers led by 7 votes on election night, 144 to 137 over Lara E. Orr. But in the final count released Tuesday, Orr, was ahead of Dillard-Myers, 175 to 168, which is also a 7 vote margin.
(Updated to include a statement from Kaylan Huber. – JM 4/21/21 7:35 AM)
