image courtesy of Friends for Anne Shaw via Facebook
As we stated on election day, the 1st Ward Aldermanic race was a close one. A very close race indeed. And on Tuesday, February 24th, it was reported that incumbent Joe Moreno had held onto his position as 1st Ward Alderman with 50.9% of the votes; results that differed significantly from the election 4 years ago when Moreno garnered 74% of the votes.
In order to avoid a runoff in these elections, a candidate must obtain 50% of the votes +1 to gain a majority and win an election.
So 50.9% of the votes means you win the election right? According to all local reports, Alderman Joe Moreno has been re-elected. And Alderman Moreno issued a "thank you" to his supporters.
But 1st Ward challenger, Anne Shaw, says she's not conceding just yet.
Why? Because the difference between a win by Moreno and a 1st Ward runoff in April between Moreno and Shaw (who came in a strong 2nd place) amounts to just 73 votes.
73 Votes.
If Joe Moreno had received 73 fewer votes out of the 8,112 that were cast, there would be a runoff election in the 1st Ward between Moreno and Shaw. Not only does 73 votes fall within the margin of error while counting those votes, not all votes have been counted. Provisional votes and absentee votes are still being tallied.
The Board of Elections will have all votes counted and finalized by March 12, 2015.
So until then, stay tuned.
