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Mayoral Recount In Normal Slowly Advances

The first day of a discovery recount for the Normal mayoral race revealed no dramatic change in the result.

Candidate Marc Tiritilli had requested a recount of a quarter of the precincts in the town after losing to incumbent Chris Koos by 11 votes. 6,336 voters went to the polls in the Mayoral race April 4, 2017. Tiritilli said his decision to demand a recount was necessary to ensure voters know their choices matter.

"I think it's very important for a number of reasons. One is to really try to get the truest intent of voters and make sure their voices are heard as much as possible," said Tiritilli.

Koos, Tiritilli, and members of the public observed as Dana Clark, Illinois Account Manager for Governmental Business Systems, fed ballots into the same machines used on election night. That firm is the election vendor for McLean County.

Tiritilli and his supporters examined signatures from each of the seven precincts selected for the discovery recount. Those included central and southern parts of Normal, the ISU campus, and the Ironwood subdivision.

Tiritilli and his campaign also took photos of each ballot as it left the tabulation machine during the discovery recount. He said they will continue the review during recount sessions Wednesday and Thursday.

"We'll wrap up the remaining ballots with the early voting, both electronic and paper, and the absentee ballots. From there, we'll start digging a little harder and try to see if our analysis looks like we have a basis for a case," said Tiritilli.

Reporters asked Tiritilli whether the precincts already recounted have resulted in major changes in the eleven vote majority for Mayor Chris Koos. Tiritilli said he and his team have not yet discussed the ballots they photographed.

The discovery recount could provide evidence for Tiritilli to seek a full recount in the April 4 race. Tiritilli's deadline to file a circuit court suit is May 25, 2017.
      
Last week, Tiritilli and supporters Bruce Meeks and Sue Feldkamp of Bloomington compared voter signature cards from registration records and compared them to the signatures from election day.

Mayor Koos said Tiritilli appeared to be targeting first time voters and older voters whose signatures might have changed over the decades since their original registration. If Tiritilli challenges specific voters, Koos said he and his supporters will have to get affidavits from those people swearing that they did vote in this election.

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