Discovery recounts will start Tuesday in 45th state House District, DuPage County Board races
The DuPage County clerk will recount some of the ballots for close races in DuPage County Board District 2 and state House District 45, starting Tuesday.
County board candidate Sean Noonan and state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi requested the recounts.
A discovery recount is the required first step to challenge the results of an election. It is allowed when a losing candidate has received votes equal to at least 95% of the winner's total.
The candidates can have up to 25% of the precincts recounted, and they get to pick which precincts. They have to pay $10 per precinct for the recounts.
Noonan, a Republican incumbent from Elmhurst, came in fourth in a six-person race for three seats. He had 25,335 votes, 76 fewer than Paula Deacon Garcia, who nabbed the third seat. Noonan is having votes recounted in 42 precincts.
Mazzochi, a Republican incumbent from Elmhurst, lost to Elmhurst Democrat Jenn Ladisch Douglass by 364 votes. Douglass had 21,960 votes (50.2%) to Mazzochi's 21,596 (49.8%). Mazzochi is having 29 precincts recounted.
The recounts could take several days, according to Adam Johnson, deputy clerk.
The candidates can use the results to petition a circuit-court judge to order a full recount.
In November, DuPage County Judge James Orel granted Mazzochi's request for an order compelling the clerk to stop using signatures on mail-in ballot applications to verify signatures on the actual ballots. The order was overturned by the 3rd District Appellate Court. Last week, one of Mazzochi's attorneys told Orel they plan to appeal the appellate court's order.
Among several dozen things requested in her petition for the discovery recount, Mazzochi has asked to examine chain-of-custody records for ballots and the originating IP addresses associated with any online vote-by-mail application between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, 2022, in the precincts being recounted.