Partial recount likely in tight DuPage board race
Even after every vote cast during the November election has been counted, the closest race in DuPage County still might not be over.
Democratic Party leaders on Tuesday said they plan to seek a partial recount now that soon-to-be official tallies show Republican Gary Grasso defeating Democrat Sharon Bryant by 21 votes for the third and final District 3 seat on the county board.
“I see no reason why we shouldn’t,” DuPage Democratic Party Chairman Robert Peickert said. “We may as well use the process to make sure everybody is satisfied with the results.”
The DuPage Election Commission on Tuesday released updated vote totals for the Nov. 6 election after counting provisional ballots and absentee ballots that arrived by mail. The agency will certify the results as official on Friday.
Grasso said he’s happy with the results that show him with 33,600 votes and Bryant with 33,579 votes.
The Burr Ridge mayor, says he’s looking forward to serving on the county board and representing District 3, which includes all or portions of Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Lemont, Naperville, Westmont, Willowbrook and Woodridge.
“I already got a welcoming text from (board Chairman) Dan Cronin,” Grasso said. “He and I see eye to eye on a lot of issues, including consolidation.”
Still, Bryant has the option to request that up to 25 percent of the precincts in District 3 be examined as part of a partial recount, called a discovery.
The discovery is done to help candidates determine if a court order should be sought to get a complete recount, officials said.
Bryant, who lives in Bolingbrook, didn’t immediately return telephone and email messages on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Peickert said there’s nothing wrong with taking “a second look” at the results. He and Grasso agree the outcome is very close.
“I still would like to know if there was a closer election in America on Election Day,” Grasso said.
Incumbent District 3 Republicans John Curran of Woodridge and Brian Krajewski of Downers Grove easily won re-election in the same race.
The next closest county board race was in District 2, where Sean Noonan of Elmhurst defeated fellow Republican Elaine Zannis of Oak Brook by 91 votes, according to the updated results.
Zannis said Tuesday she has no plans to seek a partial recount. “I wasn’t thinking about that,” she said.
District 2 covers all or parts of Addison, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Villa Park, Westmont and Woodridge.