ROCK ISLAND, Illinois -
The race for Rock Island mayor continues in a courtroom Wednesday.
Judge Mark VandeWiele held a status hearing Monday to prepare all sides for the court date.
A recount was finished last week in the election between now Mayor Dennis Pauley and challenger Dave Levin, after just 13 votes separated the two candidates.
The hand-counting of ballots produced several that were thrown out because they were not initialed by election judges.
On Wednesday , County Clerk Dick Leibovitz will testify on the voting and ballot process. Leibovitz believes ballots that aren't initialed by an election judge should still be valid.
'It's a matter of a clerical error, they should be counted'', Leibovitz re-iterated at Mondays hearing.
Judge VandeWiele said he's still researching case law, and reserving any judgement until Wednesday's hearing, but while the argument of disenfranchising voters is ''an issue that has weighed heavily on my mind'', he said ''I got a statute I got to follow''.
''I'm staring at a statute that says you can't count un-initialed ballots'', VandieWiele said in a preview of what is likely to come.
Levin and his attorney say according to their count, the judge should declare Levin the winner by one vote.
What are the odds a mayoral election in a city the size of Rock Island would come down to one vote?
''One percent'', says Dr. Tom Bengston, a mathematics professor at Augustana College. ''That would happen about one time in 100 given that we had just over 6,000 votes''.
Judge Mark VandeWiele held a status hearing Monday to prepare all sides for the court date.
A recount was finished last week in the election between now Mayor Dennis Pauley and challenger Dave Levin, after just 13 votes separated the two candidates.
The hand-counting of ballots produced several that were thrown out because they were not initialed by election judges.
On Wednesday , County Clerk Dick Leibovitz will testify on the voting and ballot process. Leibovitz believes ballots that aren't initialed by an election judge should still be valid.
'It's a matter of a clerical error, they should be counted'', Leibovitz re-iterated at Mondays hearing.
Judge VandeWiele said he's still researching case law, and reserving any judgement until Wednesday's hearing, but while the argument of disenfranchising voters is ''an issue that has weighed heavily on my mind'', he said ''I got a statute I got to follow''.
''I'm staring at a statute that says you can't count un-initialed ballots'', VandieWiele said in a preview of what is likely to come.
Levin and his attorney say according to their count, the judge should declare Levin the winner by one vote.
What are the odds a mayoral election in a city the size of Rock Island would come down to one vote?
''One percent'', says Dr. Tom Bengston, a mathematics professor at Augustana College. ''That would happen about one time in 100 given that we had just over 6,000 votes''.
