DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The official recount for Macon County sheriff is happening on Tuesday, July 7.

That means going over nearly 40,000 ballots by hand. The Macon County Clerk, Josh Tanner, said a task such as this could take three to four weeks to finish. However, it is something he and his staff have prepped for. 

Back in 2018, then-candidate Tony "Chubby" Brown won the election by one vote. Here's how the recounting process works: there will be four counting stations. Each station will have two election judges, including one Republican and the other a Democrat.

Judges will be accompanied by a representative from Brown and Root's team. Tanner said the ballots will be sorted out by precincts. 

"One of the election judges will pull out the ballot and they'll determine what precinct it goes into," Tanner said. "The second judge will confirm it." 

After sorting out the ballots, they are put into ballot bags. The ballots will then be taken to the next counting station, which is on a different floor, with four more election judges and representatives from each party. 

"The ballots will be sorted (by) how the vote was cast," Tanner said. That means figuring out if the votes were for Root, Brown, or over or undervotes.

An undervote is when neither party is selected and an overvote is when both parties are voted for. Tanner said there will be no updates and the only report will be given to Judge Ana Benjamin of Champaign. She will ultimately decide who holds the title of Macon County sheriff. 

Whether the votes are for Brown or Root, Josh Tanner said it is imperative the number of ballots should match from the beginning to the end of the recount.Â