The results from the election may not be known for at least a week. This is the message from the Illinois State Board of Elections following the report of nearly 587,000 mail-in ballots that had yet to be included in the count. As of November 2nd, 108 local election authorities reported the mail-in ballots and while some have been counted already, all ballots can be postmarked no later than Election Day to arrive and be counted for two weeks afterward, so totals could change through November 17th. Board of Elections spokesperson Matt Dietrich says results could take a while.

Statewide totals for mail ballots will be regularly updated on the Illinois State Board of Elections website but they do not report any election results until it certifies the vote on December 4th. Of course, unofficial results may be obtained from local election authorities. 

Dietrich warns that results, especially at the legislation level may change often.

Illinois election authorities have sent over 2.35 million ballots to voters, and nearly 1.76 million have already been returned. Nearly 3.6 million votes have already been cast for this election. In comparison, in 2016 only 1.8 million votes were cast before election day. The state of Illinois has more than 8.3 million registered voters for the election which is an all-time record. 43 percent of registered voters have already voted. 

Some important dates coming up include November 17th which is when local election authorities must complete counting of ballots, November 24th which is when local election authorities must transmit results to the State Board of Elections, and December 4th which is when the State Board of Elections certifies the vote and publishes results. 

Stay tuned to Regional Radio News for all the latest election results and information as it becomes available.