In Pingree Grove’s April 7 election the apparent new village president won by just two votes and one of the candidates for trustee by only three votes. But nobody ha asked for a recount yet.
Official results in the contest were certified by the Kane County Clerk’s Office on Tuesday and they showed the same numbers as the count late on election night: Steve Wiedmeyer, a trustee on the village board, had defeated incumbent Village President Greg Marston by 312 votes to 310. And with four candidates jockeying for three open trustee seats, incumbent Brian Paszkiewicz had edged out challenger Joseph Nowosielski for the third seat by 331 to 328.
The other trustee seats were won by Bernie Thomas with 414 votes and Bob Spieker with 366.
More Top Picks Best Digital Magnifiers For Macular Degeneration
Kane County Elections Director Suzanne Fahnestock said Thursday that no one has asked yet for a recount. That must be requested no sooner than the certification date, on Tuesday, and no later than next Tuesday.
Under Illinois law, in an election with just two precincts like Pingree Grove’s, a candidate can ask for a “discovery recount” to be done in just one of the precincts. Even if that recount came up with a different vote total than the original, Fahnestock said, the election results wouldn’t automatically change. But the recount results would become evidence that a candidate could take before a circuit court judge, asking the judge to order a recount of all the precincts or to change the election outcome.
Fahnestock said each of the past three years has brought a request for one such discovery recount.
In 2014 Associate Judge Marmarie Kostelny, seeking a full judgeship, came up seven votes short of attorney Donald Tegeler. Kostelny asked for a recount in some precincts.
In 2013 Clifford Carrignan lost in the race for St. Charles City Council Ward 2 alderman by five votes to Arthur Lemke. Carrignan asked for a recount.
In 2012 Robert Getz was running for Kane County Board in the Elgin area and came up 13 votes short of Douglas Scheflow. Getz asked for a recount in some precincts.
Fahnestock said none of those recounts changed their election’s outcome.