A number of CM city elections to be determined after canvassing
Due to a high number of write-in candidates during the Central Mclean primary election June 9, a number of official race winners will not be named until after the canvass at the end of the month.
Write-in ballots
According to McLean County Auditor Beth Knutson, write-in candidates have been counted across the county. In the next step, the county will canvass the results June 22 before sending them to the state.
Once the votes are canvassed and certified at the county level, they will be sent back to the cities to determine a winner. Write-in ballot winners will be notified by the cities, and the winner will either have to accept or deny the position.
If the winner accepts, Knutson explained they will be in the position for a full term. If the winner declines the position, city leaders will have to appoint someone to the position, which will then be considered an “unexpired term.” This means the appointed candidate will have to run again in two years to keep the position.
Knutson clarified if the candidate with the most write-in ballots declines to accept the seat, it does not automatically go to the person with the second highest write-in ballots.