Recount Shows Closer Vote Tallies For Long Lake Ballot Referenda

EDWARDSVILLE – A hand recount of results for two ballot refenda in the Madison County 2026 primaries show much different vote totals than initially reported.

At issue were two referenda that appeared on the ballot for voters within the Long Lake Fire Protection District. One asked voters whether the district’s property tax rate of .30% should be raised to .40%, while the other asked whether a special tax should be levied to fund an emergency ambulance service.

Multiple voters reached out to Riverbender.com to report they had voted against both referenda on their ballots and personally knew others who had done the same. They raised concerns after not seeing their votes reflected in the initial election night results, which showed 0 votes against the ambulance service referendum and only two votes against the property tax rate increase.

Late last month, a judge granted Madison County Clerk Linda Andreas’s request for a recount of the votes cast for and against the two referenda after her office suspected inaccuracies in the initial results. Her office later found that a formatting issue with the ballot lead to an inaccurate vote tally, but the issue only affected the two referenda for voters in the Long Lake Fire Protection District.

A hand recount for only those two referenda was then authorized by Associate Judge Ronald Foster and was conducted last week by a bipartisan panel of election judges. The updated results show that while both items were still approved by a majority of voters, those majorities are much more narrow than first reported.

The referendum to increase the district’s property tax rate was approved by a vote of 448 to 383, reflecting 53.91% of voters in favor and 46.09% opposed. This varies heavily from the unofficial Election Night results showing 99.48% in favor with 0.52% opposed.

The referendum to fund the emergency ambulance service passed by a vote of 504 to 327, which amounts to 60.65% of voters in favor and 39.35% opposed, a substantial difference from the initial vote tally showing 100% of voters in favor and 0% opposed.

“My office is committed to upholding the integrity of every election we administer. Protecting the accuracy, security and transparency of the process is central to our mission,” Andreas said after the recount was authorized. “That’s why I requested this recount – to ensure every vote is counted accurately and transparently.”

More like this:

Judge Grants Clerk Andreas’ Request For Recount Of Votes For Two Referenda  

Mar 20, 2026

Andreas Nominated For Madison County Clerk, Other 2026 Primary Results

Mar 17, 2026

Edwardsville Voters Strongly Reject Video Gambling Ballot Referendum

Mar 17, 2026

Attorney General Raoul Reminds Illinois Voters Of Rights

Mar 10, 2026

Budzinski Joins DPI to Urge Voters: Mail in Your Ballot Today, Ensure Your Vote is Counted

Mar 10, 2026