A number of DuPage County elections are still up for grabs, with only a few thousand votes separating each candidate.
According to Jean Kaczmarek, there are still approximately 18,000 outstanding mail-in ballots left to count.
“The processing of the mail ballots is still ongoing and will continue over the next two weeks…There are a couple of races that are tight. Any candidate that is within two percentage points difference can ask for a recount, and that’s their right,” said Kaczmarek.
Taking a closer look at some of those tight races in which Naperville voters weighed in:
Currently incumbent Democrat William “Bill” White is holding a 2,715 vote lead over challenger Bob Grogan in the race for auditor.
In the race for coroner, Democrat Judith Lukas has a slightly larger lead over incumbent Republican Richard Jorgensen, with 5,388 more votes.
For the District 3 county board seat, incumbent Democrat Lucy Chang Evans holds a 2,702 vote lead over Republican Baron Leacock.
The District 5 county board seat has wider margins, with Democrat Saba Haider with an 8,421 vote lead over incumbent Republican Patty Gustin.
But there’s a closer divide for the District 6 county board seat, with Democrat incumbent Greg Schwarze 2,170 votes ahead of Republican challenger Joe Soto.
And the tightest race of all is the District 6 Forest Preserve District of DuPage County seat, with Democrat Rick Gieser just 29 votes ahead of Republican incumbent Al Murphy.
Official results for DuPage County races will be released on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
“A week later, those results will be certified,” Kaczmarek said.
DuPage County sees slight dip in voter turnout compared to 2020
DuPage County saw a 72.54% voter turnout for the 2024 general election, a decrease from the 76.55% turnout in 2020.
The number of county residents utilizing vote-by-mail decreased from 177,730 in 2020 to 105,090 in 2024.
But the number of in-person early voters in the county went up, with 210,419 this year compared to 190,964 in 2020.
2024 marks the first presidential election where DuPage County residents could cast their ballots at any of the county’s polling sites. The “Vote Anywhere” program was originally implemented for the midterm election in 2022.
“It is very popular and it does make a difference,” Kaczmarek said.
All in-person votes in DuPage County were cast on paper ballots. Kaczmarek and the county introduced the system in 2022, calling it “the gold standard in the election industry.” The county clerk said there were no issues with ballot technology during the 2024 election cycle.
“Everything went smoothly,” said Kaczmarek.
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
