Chicago election officials were slated to provide the latest numbers on two races in the Illinois Primary that were still too close to call on Friday as counting of mail-in ballots began.
In the race for Cook County State’s Attorney, as of Thursday night, judges Eileen O’Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III held a narrow lead of 8,152 votes.The race for which Democrat will appear on the November ticket for Cook County State’s Attorney has been a closely watched one, with both O’Neill Burke and Harris looking to replace incumbent Kim Foxx, who is not running for a third term.
Results also have yet to be called for the “Bring Chicago Home” real estate transfer tax, which has been one of the most talked-about questions on voter ballots in the city. As of Wednesday morning, 98% of precincts reported vote totals.
Results showed 54% of voters, or 166,285, voting “no” on the referendum, while 143,624, or 46%, voted “yes.”
The Chicago Board of Elections previously said the public would see the first updated, unofficial election results from mail-in ballots on Friday evening.
According to the Board of Elections, more than 25,000 ballots had been received by the board as of Thursday night. However, the number of outstanding mail-in-ballots stood at just over 87,000.
On Friday, a team from the Chicago Board of Elections began processing, scanning and counting the mail-in ballots that had either been received or postmarked by Election Day. Under state election code, ballots have a two-week period to be counted, making the deadline this year April 2. However, it’s possible the results could be released sooner.