It ended up with James Cappleman having a 25-vote lead (7,079 votes, and 50.09%) over Lalonde (7,054 votes, and 49.91%) at the end of the unofficial count.
The election results will be certified by the Board of Elections on Thursday, April 18th.
There's every indication that there will be a request made before a judge for a full or partial recount of votes, so it ain't over 'til it's over.
There was a total of 14,133 votes counted, a gain of 772 new votes since the polls closed on Election Day.
When the votes were counted on the evening of April 2nd, each candidate had the exact same percentage of votes as they ended up with two weeks later. Lalonde had 49.91% (6,669 votes) and Cappleman had 50.09% (6,692 votes) after all 40 precincts were counted.
We couldn't find any evidence of a recount reversing any prior Chicago election, but there's a first time for everything. The most recent recount came in 2015, when Ald. John Pope lost by 20 votes to Susan Sadlowski Garza and asked for a partial recount. He dropped the challenge and conceded on May 12, 2015, after the partial recount indicated he had no clear path to victory.
Meanwhile, in the 33rd District, Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez maintained her lead over incumbent Deb Mall by a 13-vote margin. We have no information as to whether Ald. Mell, who won her last election by 17 votes, will request a recount.
For a brief explanation of how a recount works, check out Ward Room.
Block Club Chicago's article is here: Ald. James Cappleman Holds Onto 46th Ward Seat By Just 25 Votes As Final Tally Announced
It's over whether MBL realizes it or not. It's a beautiful morning......
ReplyDeleteNow she should request the preliminary recount and then use its results to concede defeat with dignity.
Just do a search for "Cappleman" on twitter and breathe in the angst as her supporters whine about the lost opportunity.
It brings joy to the ample dark places in my psyche to read those. I picture them sitting on the floor typing into their I Phones tears streaming down their cheeks and reaching the top of their Che Guevara T-Shirts.
The whitest kid on the block has lost her election and while we may have to defeat her again in the future, for the moment things are looking up for Uptown and the 46th Ward.
In a battle between "science versus the machine" and "best practices" the latter won and the church bells ring.
Progress will continue in Uptown and we won't return to the cimmerian despair of the Shiller years--at least for the next four years.
Capp and Mayor elect Lightfoot should get along well as I suspect their policy priorities align fairly well in terms of development, government accountability and openness.
Smiles........