* THis is a major blow to DC Democrats who had hoped to prevent David Gill from winning the Democratic primary for the fourth time. Gill was seen as far less electable against longtime Republican Congressman Tim Johnson, but as of now, Gill is ahead of Matt Goetten by 143 votes…

Unofficial returns, which will not be certified by the State Board of Elections for weeks, give the Bloomington physician 15,507 votes to 15,364 votes for Greene County State’s Attorney Matt Goetten.

Before Macoupin County ballots were counted around 4:30 a.m. today, Gill had a lead of 14,245 to 13,220. Macoupin County Democrats favored Goetten, 2,144 to 1,262. But the margin wasn’t enough to overcome Gill’s lead. […]

Gill owed much of his victory to Champaign County Democrats, who gave him a margin of 5,116 votes to 1,365 votes for Goetten. Champaign County voters, who are familiar with Gill from his three previous races against Johnson, gave Gill more than one-third of all of his votes Tuesday. Gill’s campaign had hoped for 72 percent of the votes in Champaign County; he got 75.78 percent. Gill also won by a large margin in McLean County, 805 to 265. But Goetten won in Macon County, 2,678 to 2,632, and in Sangamon County, 1,903 to 1,582.

Goetten was never an A-List candidate. As the NRCC pointed out last night in a press release, the best possible candidates stayed away from this contest even though the district was drawn to be more Democratic.

Anyway, Gill has declared victory…

Bloomington physician David Gill has a narrow lead over primary opponent Matt Goetten with all precincts reporting Wednesday morning.

Unofficial totals have Gill with 15,507 votes to Goetten’s 15,364 votes. Macoupin County made up the last 61 precincts to come in after 4 a.m. Wednesday, and Goetten won the county handily with 2,144 votes to Gill’s 1,262.

But it apparently wasn’t enough to overcome Gill’s margin. However, absentee ballots mailed on time can be counted up to 14 days after the election.

Goetten’s campaign could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.

Macoupin hand-counted votes last night. It was slow as slow can be down there. Just ten minutes or so before the county finished counting, Gill sent out a harsh press release, which probably highlighted his not ready for primetime character…

Dr David Gill Questions Elections Process in Macoupin County

“At this point, we must seriously question the validity, transparency and accuracy of the elections process in Macoupin County. Right now, I lead in this election by 4 points and 1025 votes, but it doesn’t matter. This about the democratic process and being able to have basic faith in our election system.

“There are serious questions with how this process is being handled in Macoupin County.

Who decided to count the ballots by hand?

What process and procedures did they follow?

Has there been an uninterrupted and verified chain of custody?

Were there witnesses present for every part of the process and to monitor all handling of the ballots?

How were the results tabulated?

Was the media present?

Was law enforcement involved?

Was a legal opinion sought by the County Clerk for the proper course of action for this unprecedented process? Why was there no press conference or public announcement?

In 2000, Americans saw a president selected in this country and citizens disenfranchised because of a flawed election process and political dealmaking in Florida.

How can this possibly be happening in Illinois 12 years later?

At this point I believe the best course of action is for a judge to order the impounding of all ballots in Macoupin County until a process and equipment can be determined to properly count these ballots electronically, overseen by a judge and open to the media and observers. Anything less is undermining our basic democratic rights.

Discuss.

*** UPDATE *** A letter sent to Gill by the Macoupin County Clerk…

March 21, 2012

Dr. David Gill
Congressional Candidate
13th Congressional District

Dear Dr. Gill:

I have read your press release issued early this morning. I appreciate the scrutiny being placed on my Office because as the chief election authority of Macoupin County it is my responsibility to make certain that the great American freedom of the individual right to vote is protected. First and foremost, all procedures were completed in conjunction with the State Board of Elections. Because of the unprecedented problem that was being experienced by dozens of counties across the state, I ensured that the process here was conducted in a manner that not only met legal standards, but went above and beyond to guarantee accuracy and transparency in the voting process.

The procedure put in place required that any precinct experiencing any problem was immediately checked in and ballots, tabulators and official ballot records were taken to experienced Democrat and Republican election judges. These judges then individually ran each ballot through the tabulator, verifying that the total count on the tabulator reflected the ballot being read and counted. Overseeing this process were two representatives from the State Board of Elections, an Assistant State’s Attorney of Macoupin County, the Democrat and Republican County Chairmen, nearly all candidates (or their representatives) in contested races, members of the media, as well as any member of the general public who wished to be present. This was the process from start to finish. No one was denied access.

Every step of this process was done to promote accuracy and continue to promote a fair and unbiased election process in Macoupin County. Macoupin County’s Democrat and Republican election judges as well as members of my staff worked tirelessly all day and night to make sure that every vote was counted and done so properly. I know it was a long night for everyone and sometimes tensions arise; however, my office, as always, took any necessary steps in providing an open vote tabulation process. During my time as County Clerk I have worked with others to ensure open government by placing our county checkbook and monthly board meeting minutes online and have been recognized by local news outlets for these types of efforts toward transparency.

As always, I will make myself available to you, any candidate, or any taxpayer should you have questions about how this election was administered by the dedicated staff in my office and all election judges.

Sincerely,

Pete Duncan
Macoupin County Clerk