With one week to go before the results of the Feb. 24 Democratic primary are certified, Patrick Seger’s hair-thin lead in the race for 2nd Ward alderman in Waukegan had grown from two to seven votes with the addition of late-arriving ballots by mail.
Seger had ended election night with 122 votes to 120 for incumbent Thomas Koncan Jr., totals that included ballots cast on Election Day and during early voting. Also included were early-arriving ballots by mail, leaving only provisional ballots and mail-in ballots with a postmark of midnight on Feb. 23 to be collected and counted.
Lake County Clerk Carla Wyckoff reported last week that there were no provisional ballots involved in the 2nd Ward race, but 18 ward voters had requested mail-in ballots that had yet to be received. As of Tuesday afternoon, March 3, only five ballots had arrived, and all cast votes for Seger.
On Wednesday, clerk assistant Debra Nieto said any remaining mail-in ballots postmarked before the deadline would be added if they are received by March 10. Until the race is certified, all results are considered unofficial.
Following this week’s City Council meeting, Koncan said he will “wait for the final numbers and see where they are” before deciding whether or not to challenge what is shaping up to be a razor-thin margin.
“Right now it’s at seven, so we’ll look at it and see where they are,” said Koncan, who is seeking reelection to a second full term representing the southwest-side ward. “All I know is that there were 18 outstanding ballots, (and) a handful came in last week.”
While mail-in ballots can be requested by any Illinois registered voter, the county clerk runs specific programs for students away at school and residents who seasonally vacation outside their precinct. Another category includes service members serving out of the country and their families, along with U.S. citizens residing outside the country who previously maintained a residence in the precinct.
With no Republican or write-in candidates on the April 7 ballot, Seger would be the presumptive winner of the four-year term if his margin holds up.
In 2001, when Dan Drew won the Waukegan mayor’s race over Newton Finn by six votes, Finn asked for a discovery recount of balloting materials but chose not to file a formal challenge in Lake County Circuit Court. Two of Finn’s supporters filed their own challenge, alleging more than 60 irregularities on ballot applications and other materials, but a judge eventually ruled that there were “no irregularities of a substantial and serious nature,” and the result stood.
Twitter @NewsSunDanMoran
