Judge declares Jim Root winner of Macon County sheriff's race
DECATUR, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — A Macon County Judge has declared Jim Root to be the winner of the 2018 Macon County sheriff's race.
In this election, election judges named Democrat Tony "Chubby" Brown the winner of the race over Republican Jim Root by just one vote.
In November 2018, the Macon County Clerk reported that Brown received 19,655 votes, while Root received 19,654 votes.
Shortly after this, Root officially petitioned for a manual count of all ballots. Brown agreed to it.
RELATED: Jim Root asks for recount in Macon County Sheriff's race
That recount was completed in July 2020.
The results of that particular recount showed that Brown beat Root by 18 votes in the 2018 election. Brown received 18,982 votes, while Root received 18,964 votes.
RELATED: Results of Macon County Sheriff election recount are in
However, this is only a report to the court and does not change the outcome of the election.
A judge made the final decision on the matter.
The judge's order found that after contested and uncounted ballots were resolved, the court found that Jim Root received 19,579 votes while Tony "Chubby" Brown received 19,563 votes.
RELATED: What's next for unresolved Macon County Sheriff's race
