Politics & Government

Plainfield Elections: Provisional Votes Don't Change Outcome in School, Fire District

The Will County clerk's office counted the remaining provisional ballots Tuesday morning, but they did not alter the outcome of the April 9 election.

Hundreds of provisional ballots were added to the vote totals on Tuesday, but the outcome didn’t change in two of Plainfield’s closest races.

As election night came to a close, Plainfield School District 202 incumbents Rod Westfall and Michelle Smith kept their seats, joined by newcomers Bill Slabich Jr. and William Dargan.

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Just 104 votes separated Dargan and fellow candidate P. Anne Walchshauser.

On Tuesday, provisional, grace period and absentee ballots were counted at the Will County Clerk’s office, but it didn’t change the outcome. Walchshauser picked up an additional 350 votes to Dargan’s 351.

Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the end, Dargan held onto his lead, which increased to 105 votes.

“Of course I would be honored to express my thoughts as an official member of the board,” Walchshauser said a day after the April 9 election. “If not, the process has been educational and I continue to be convinced that I was compelled to give it a try …

“My reasons for running were sincere. The bottom line is the children,” she said in an email to Patch.

In the Plainfield Fire Protection District race for two open trustee seats, challenger Ashley Sandstrom snagged more than 190 additional votes, but it wasn’t enough to win a spot on the board.

The final count did cut James Lehmann’s lead from 42 to just 7 votes. In the end, the election results stayed the same, with Lehmann and William Barnes emerging victorious.

Sandstrom did not respond to messages from Plainfield Patch.

Final vote totals (editor's note - totals include votes from the Will County and Kendall County clerk's offices):

Plainfield School District 202

Four board seats were open

Candidate Vote Total Michelle Leigh Smith 5,100 Rod Westfall 4,280 William Slabich, Jr. 4,270 Bill Dargan 4,076 P. Anne Walchshauser 3,971

Plainfield Fire Protection District

Two seats were up for election

Candidate Vote Total David L. Hebert 1,230 James R. Lehmann 1,686 Ashley N. Sandstrom 1,679 William A. Barnes 1,745


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