Originally published on April 14, 2021 4:09 pm
Rita Ali now leads Jim Montelongo by 39 votes in the still-contested race to become Peoria's next mayor.
The Peoria County Election Commission released its latest tabulation of mail-in ballots on Wednesday. The next update is Friday. The final count is set for April 20, with election certification scheduled for April 21.
Montelongo sent a letter to the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office questioning the election commission's mail-in ballot procedures, but the commission's executive director, Tom Bride, defends how his office is conducting the count.
Montelongo held a razor-thin lead on Election night, but as more mail-in ballots postmarked on or before April 6 arrive, the balance has tipped to Ali.