Rita Ali's lead over Jim Montelongo grew to 35 votes in the latest tally of mail-in ballots, which are set to determine who becomes Peoria's next mayor.Montelongo held a narrow lead on Election night, but Ali leads among absentee voters. Those votes have put her ahead as more vote-by-mail ballots are tallied in the days following the election.
Ballots postmarked on or before April 6 will be counted through April 20.
In a letter to the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office dated April 9, Montelongo's lawyer alleges the Peoria County Election Commission isn't following proper procedures in handling the ballots. He claims poor record keeping brings those ballots which put Ali into the narrow lead into question, because it isn't possible to tell when they were received.
Election Commission executive director Tom Bride hasn't responded to a request for comment.
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