Chicago, Illinois – The race for Cook County state’s attorney saw a reduction in the gap between the leading Democratic contenders amidst ongoing vote counting nearly a week after the Illinois primary. As election judges worked to tally the votes, the Chicago Board of Elections acknowledged an error that delayed the outcome of the closely watched primary race.
Eileen O’Neill Burke has taken the lead over Clayton Harris III by just over 2,000 votes. With O’Neill Burke securing 259,445 votes and Harris garnering 257,430 votes, the race remains tight as the final count approaches. The city is on edge as the Board of Elections rushes to correct the mistake that left out more than 10,000 vote-by-mail ballots in the initial count.
Public Information Officer Max Bever publicly apologized for the oversight, attributing the discrepancy to a failure in including all vote-by-mail ballots received on March 18. As the counting process continued over the weekend, both campaigns sent representatives to monitor the proceedings closely.
Despite the efforts to rectify the error and include the missing mail-in votes, political experts warn that the incident could raise doubts among voters regarding the legitimacy of the election. The margin between the candidates remains narrow, prompting speculation about the possibility of a recount if the losing candidate falls within 5% of the winner.
With the deadline for counting late-arriving ballots set for April 2, Chicago and Cook County anticipate announcing a winner before that date. State law dictates that a recount must be requested by the losing candidate if the margin is within 5%, potentially prolonging the final decision in the race for Cook County state’s attorney.
Looking ahead, the Democratic nominee emerging victorious will advance to face Republican Bob Fioretti and Libertarian Andrew Charles Kopinski in the general election slated for November. As the drama unfolds and the race enters its final stages, all eyes are on Chicago to see who will come out on top in this closely contested contest.