Decision on Kane Co. GOP sheriff candidate uncertain
Two days after the election it's still not clear whether Don Kramer or Rob Russell will be the GOP candidate for Kane County sheriff in November.
Vote totals from Election Day showing Kramer as the winner by 208 votes haven't changed. But 242 absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted by the Aurora Election Commission could keep voters guessing until Feb. 16. That's the absolute deadline for all remaining ballots to be added up.
Kramer was ahead of Russell in Aurora, but Kane County, where Russell was ahead, also appears to still be in play.
The Kane County clerk's office said Thursday 1,399 absentee ballots were requested and all but 679 have been returned. Valid absentee ballots already received are reflected in current vote totals.
Additionally, there are about 30 provisional ballots, which Clerk Jack Cunningham said he expected to be authenticated and counted Thursday.
The outstanding Aurora and Kane ballots might affect county board races with narrow margins of victory as well, such as District 7's contest between incumbent Gerry Jones and Lorena Cundari.
So far, Jones is leading Cundari by 13 votes, 309 to 296, according to the unofficial count. Those numbers could change if some of the outstanding absentee and provisional ballots are from District 7 residents.
Since the Aurora Election Commission has not determined which districts the uncounted ballots are from, final totals in District 1 (Myrna Molina led Sylvia Leonberger 159-93 votes), District 3 (Juan Reyna led Jennifer Laesch 210-178) and District 5 (Melisa Taylor had 851 votes to 562 for Bill Wyatt) might also be in question. All uncounted ballots would affect the sheriff's race.
Further frustrating matters for people checking results was a technical problem that made county Web sites, including the clerk's, unavailable much of Thursday.
This has all left Kramer and Russell in various states of confusion and hopefulness. With the lead currently in his favor, Kramer sounded more confident on Thursday.
"I'm pretty upbeat," Kramer said. "I won't say I'm surprised at the results. He had more going for him up north. I had more going for me down south. The lead is pretty slim. As far as the absentee votes, I don't really think it's going to change the outcome. I think by the time everything is taken into account, I'll come out ahead. But I'm not going to start celebrating until be have a certified count."
The latest figures seemed to leave Russell more confused and anxious since he believed the uncounted votes totaled closer to 900 on Election Night.
"I really don't know the exact number," Russell said. "I'm just kind of putting it in the Lord's hands. This waiting is definitely not a good thing for my sanity. But I still feel my chances are good. If Mr. Kramer wins, I'm not going to be a crybaby. If that's what it is, that's what it is."