Late-arriving mail and provisional ballots counted Tuesday evening did not alter the outcome of a tight Mundelein mayoral race.
Unofficial results show Mayor Steve Lentz bested challenger and village Trustee Holly Kim by five votes. The late mail and provisional ballots provided 22 extra votes to Kim, 14 to Lentz and four to the third mayoral candidate, Ray Ladewig.
With the April 4 election results and Tuesday’s extra ballots counted, the latest tally has Lentz with 2,249 votes, Kim with 2,244 and Ladewig with 395. The outcome is to be finalized Wednesday, when the results are canvassed by Lake County.
Kim said she expects to request a discovery recount. Such a recount would not change the election results, but it potentially could give Kim evidence to present to a judge, who then could order a full recount, a new election, or reverse the results.
“We’re just going to dot our i’s and cross our t’s to make sure everyone’s vote was counted,” Kim said.
Lentz said he understands why Kim would want the discovery recount.
“A lot of residents voted for Holly and I respect that,” he said.
Lentz, who is finishing his first term, has pointed to accomplishments such as a downtown revitalization project and efforts to lure businesses. However, he created a stir in 2015 by criticizing unwed parents and the legalization of gay marriage.
Kim contends the village must do more to attract and retain businesses. She triggered some controversy last year with forums on how to stage public protests and defending your rights when dealing with police.
At least 1,000 valid ballots were reported to be received by the Lake County clerk’s office through the mail after Election Day. The office also received about 80 valid provisional ballots from Lake County voters.
Ballots were electronically counted and the results uploaded to the county’s voting database. Write-in votes also were totaled and added to the database.
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