Nearly every remaining ballot in the Fifth Judicial District has been counted with totals confirming that Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier has been retained by 60.74 percent.
By earning 229,860 "yes" to 148,511 "no" votes, Karmeier exceeded the minimum threshold of 60 percent required for retention by 2,837 votes.
Though the election was more than two weeks ago there remained uncounted provisional and mail-in absentee ballots that had not been included in results from each of the 38 election boards posted on election night.
Most election authorities have now counted outstanding ballots, and as a result Karmeier's margin of victory increased from 60.68 on election night to 60.74 percent with a post election net gain of approximately 291 votes.
In Alexander and Massac counties there remains just a handful of uncounted ballots. A clerk in Massac County indicated that a person in charge of counting had been ill, but that two absentee ballots would be counted by today.
Votes in the two most populous counties - Madison and St. Clair - represented about 40 percent of the total cast in a district that includes the state's 37 southernmost counties.
There were 88,095 yes to 57,529 no votes in the two counties, representing a victory margin of 60.4 percent.
Results of outstanding ballots counted in Madison, St. Clair and East St. Louis, which concluded Tuesday, mirrored results from election night: Madison County: 58 percent; St. Clair County: 63 percent and East St. Louis: 62 percent.
Had Karmeier not secured St. Clair County and particularly East St. Louis, he would likely have lost.
St. Clair County and East St. Louis totals combined show Karmeier received 63.34 percent, or 45,508 to 26,335 votes.
The picture was different in Madison County, where Karmeier received 42,587 yes to 31,194 no votes, or a margin of 57.7 percent.