More than 1,600 mail-in ballots uncounted in counties that take in Briel-Bishop state rep race

The race for state Rep. Lance Yednock's seat is not over. Democrat Amy "Murri" Briel holds a lead over challenger Liz Bishop with as many as 1,700 mail-in ballots yet to be counted.

Briel held a 505-vote lead after all precincts were counted in La Salle , Bureau and DeKalb counties in the race to fill Yednock's seat in the Illinois House. Briel has 23,459 votes and Republican challenger Bishop has 22,954 in unofficial results.

With a lead of less than the number of votes outstanding, the race still remains in play. These are mail-in ballots that were received in the clerk's office and postmarked by the deadline.

"We're close enough that we're willing to wait it out, see where we are with mail-in ballots and willing to let the system work," Bishop said. She further stated a recount or legal remedy remains a possibility but "we're not there yet."

Briel deferred comment until additional information and vote tallies were made available.

La Salle County Clerk Jennifer Ebner said Wednesday there were about 850 mail-in ballots waiting to be counted – Ebner's staff has until 4:30 p.m. Thursday to count them. A final tally is due by Nov. 19.

The DeKalb County Clerk's Office reported Wednesday there still are 616 outstanding votes within the county.

Additionally, Bureau County Clerk and Recorder Matt Eggers estimated he has "anywhere from 200 to 300′′ mail-in votes to be tabulated plus any stragglers that might come in, provided they were postmarked by Nov. 5.

The 76th District, however, doesn't span the entirety of any of the three counties, so some of these votes will not include the Briel-Bishop race. Bishop won at a clip of 56% in La Salle County and 52% in Bureau County, while Briel won 62% of the votes counted in DeKalb County.

Yednock opted not to seek reelection. Briel, his chief of staff, emerged from a three-way contest for the Democratic nomination while Bishop prevailed in a two-way primary contest.