Champaign County voters turned out at 59.92% in the November 3 general election, casting 15,807 ballots out of 26,379 registered voters, and they voted decisively to recall Urbana Mayor Bill Bean while rejecting an additional levy for the county Board of Developmental Disabilities, according to the Champaign County Board of Elections’ unofficial summary report. The board’s report, timestamped 10:12 p.m. on election night, covers all 31 of the county’s 31 precincts — but every figure in it remains unofficial until the county’s official canvass and certification are complete.
In Urbana, 73.32% of voters — 2,707 of 3,692 — voted yes on recalling Mayor Bill Bean, according to the board’s unofficial report, with all eight Urbana precincts reporting. Eugene E. Fields Jr., the sole successor candidate listed on the same ballot, received 2,184 votes. Urbana voters also approved a charter amendment on data centers by a wide margin, 2,978 votes (77.25%) to 877, according to the board’s report.
The countywide Board of Developmental Disabilities additional levy — 1.5 mills, estimated to collect about $2.41 million a year over five years beginning in 2027 — failed in the unofficial count, with 8,030 votes against (52.77%) and 7,186 for (47.23%), according to the Board of Elections. A Champaign County Health District renewal levy survived narrowly, passing with 7,955 votes for (52.02%) against 7,336. In the three-way race for county commissioner, Karen T. Bailey led with a plurality of 7,061 votes (45.56%), ahead of Todd Woodruff at 32.08% and Jacob McKee at 22.35%, according to the board’s unofficial report.
Champaign County backed Republicans in the statewide races on its ballot even as those races were decided differently statewide: Vivek Ramaswamy took 61.98% of the county’s vote for governor and Jon Husted took 61.92% for U.S. senator, according to the Board of Elections’ unofficial report. State Issue 3, the photo ID constitutional amendment, passed overwhelmingly in the county, with 78.42% voting yes. County voters also favored Jim Jordan for Congress with 67.95% of the in-county vote and re-elected Auditor Nino Vitale with 58.77%, according to the board’s report.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on. What we know: the election-night unofficial count is complete, with all 31 precincts reported, and none of the county’s headline outcomes — the Urbana recall, the DD levy defeat, the health levy passage — is close enough on its face to suggest the canvass would reverse it. What we’re still waiting on: the Board of Elections has not published a Champaign County provisional-ballot count or an outstanding military and overseas (UOCAVA) ballot count in its public summary, so NewsForce247 is not reporting those numbers; provisional ballots are reviewed and eligible UOCAVA ballots received within four days after Election Day are counted during the official canvass, under Secretary of State Directive 2026-48.
What happens next is set by that same directive. The cure period runs through Saturday, November 7, with boards open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. so absentee and provisional voters can fix deficiencies or show photo ID, according to Directive 2026-48 and a November 3 release from Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office. Champaign County’s official canvass must begin no earlier than Sunday, November 8 and no later than Wednesday, November 18.
The county must complete its canvass and certify its results no later than Tuesday, November 24 — the 21st day after the election — after which the Secretary of State reviews county certifications before final statewide certification, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Until that certification, the recall of an Urbana mayor, the defeat of a DD levy and every other Champaign County outcome reported here remain, in the word election officials use for all election-night numbers, unofficial.