Elections in Illinois

Elections in Illinois provide for the election of over 40,000 elected seats across over 6,000 units of government.[1]

Elections in Illinois
Federal government
U.S. Presidential elections
U.S. Senate elections
U.S. House elections
State government
General elections
Gubernatorial elections
Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections
Attorney General elections
Secretary of State elections
Comptroller elections
Senate elections
House of Representatives elections
Judicial elections
Ballot measures and referendums
Chicago
General elections
Mayoral elections
Aldermanic elections
Chicago Board of Education elections
Cicero
Municipal elections
Cook County
County elections

In a 2020 study, Illinois was ranked as the 4th easiest state for citizens to vote in.[2]

Election system

Elections in Illinois are directly administered by 109 election authorities. Seven municipalities each have an election commission as the local election authority only within that municipality. Outside of those, the county clerk is the local election authority in 100 counties, and 2 counties have a separate election commission.[3] The local election authority's tasks include taking voter registration, selecting the polling places, ordering the ballots, training the election judges, overseeing the election itself, and supervising the vote count.[3]

The State Board of Elections (SBE) performs certain statewide election functions. Among its functions are providing uniform instructions, forms, and other material to the election authorities; adopting rules consistent with the other election law in Illinois; and approving the voting machines allowed for use by election authorities in Illinois. The SBE is also the election authority for accepting candidate petitions and nominations for certain state and national offices and for modifications to the Constitution of Illinois and other statewide referendums.[1][4]

Elections held
United States presidential election results for Illinois[5]
Year Republican / Whig Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 2,446,891 40.45% 3,471,915 57.39% 130,694 2.16%
2016 2,146,015 38.35% 3,090,729 55.24% 358,535 6.41%
2012 2,135,216 40.66% 3,019,512 57.50% 96,704 1.84%
2008 2,031,179 36.73% 3,419,348 61.83% 79,652 1.44%
2004 2,345,946 44.48% 2,891,550 54.82% 36,826 0.70%
2000 2,019,421 42.58% 2,589,026 54.60% 133,676 2.82%
1996 1,587,021 36.81% 2,341,744 54.32% 382,626 8.87%
1992 1,734,096 34.34% 2,453,350 48.58% 862,711 17.08%
1988 2,310,939 50.69% 2,215,940 48.60% 32,241 0.71%
1984 2,707,103 56.17% 2,086,499 43.30% 25,486 0.53%
1980 2,358,049 49.65% 1,981,413 41.72% 410,259 8.64%
1976 2,364,269 50.10% 2,271,295 48.13% 83,269 1.76%
1972 2,788,179 59.03% 1,913,472 40.51% 21,585 0.46%
1968 2,174,774 47.08% 2,039,814 44.15% 405,161 8.77%
1964 1,905,946 40.53% 2,796,833 59.47% 62 0.00%
1960 2,368,988 49.80% 2,377,846 49.98% 10,575 0.22%
1956 2,623,327 59.52% 1,775,682 40.29% 8,398 0.19%
1952 2,457,327 54.84% 2,013,920 44.94% 9,811 0.22%
1948 1,961,103 49.22% 1,994,715 50.07% 28,228 0.71%
1944 1,939,314 48.05% 2,079,479 51.52% 17,268 0.43%
1940 2,047,240 48.54% 2,149,934 50.97% 20,761 0.49%
1936 1,570,393 39.69% 2,282,999 57.70% 103,130 2.61%
1932 1,432,756 42.04% 1,882,304 55.23% 92,866 2.73%
1928 1,769,141 56.93% 1,313,817 42.28% 24,531 0.79%
1924 1,453,321 58.84% 576,975 23.36% 439,771 17.80%
1920 1,420,480 67.81% 534,395 25.51% 139,839 6.68%
1916 1,152,549 52.56% 950,229 43.34% 89,929 4.10%
1912 253,593 22.13% 405,048 35.34% 487,532 42.54%
1908 629,932 54.53% 450,810 39.02% 74,512 6.45%
1904 632,645 58.77% 327,606 30.43% 116,248 10.80%
1900 597,985 52.83% 503,061 44.44% 30,851 2.73%
1896 607,130 55.66% 465,613 42.68% 18,126 1.66%
1892 399,288 45.70% 426,281 48.79% 48,078 5.50%
1888 370,475 49.54% 348,351 46.58% 28,987 3.88%
1884 337,469 50.17% 312,351 46.43% 22,850 3.40%
1880 318,036 51.11% 277,321 44.56% 26,948 4.33%
1876 278,232 50.20% 258,611 46.66% 17,384 3.14%
1872 241,936 56.27% 184,884 43.00% 3,151 0.73%
1868 250,304 55.69% 199,116 44.31% 0 0.00%
1864 189,512 54.42% 158,724 45.58% 0 0.00%
1860 172,171 50.69% 160,215 47.17% 7,280 2.14%
1856 96,275 40.23% 105,528 44.09% 37,531 15.68%
1852 64,733 41.77% 80,378 51.87% 9,863 6.36%
1848 52,853 42.42% 55,952 44.91% 15,791 12.67%
1844 45,854 42.05% 58,795 53.91% 4,408 4.04%
1840 45,574 48.91% 47,441 50.92% 160 0.17%
1836 15,220 45.31% 18,369 54.69% 0 0.00%

Regular elections

There are four types of regular elections in Illinois: the general primary election and the general election, which occur in even years, and the consolidated primary election and the consolidated election, which occur in odd years.[6]

The election day for the general election is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even year,[7] which is the day usually associated with election day in the United States. Its associated general primary election is held on the preceding third Tuesday in March.[7]

The election day for the consolidated election is the first Tuesday in April of each odd year, unless that day is during Passover, in which case the election is the first Tuesday after Passover.[7][8] Its associated consolidated primary election is held on the preceding last Tuesday in February.[7] The consolidated election was established in 1982; before this, many local governments held separate elections on unrelated days at unrelated places.[6]

Special elections

Illinois statutes limit special elections to specific circumstances, prohibiting all other elections from being held at any other time than for the regular elections.[9]

United States Congress

If a seat in the United States House of Representatives becomes vacant more than 240 days before the next general election, the governor chooses a date within 180 days and issues a writ of election to hold a special election on the chosen day for that congressional district.[10]

Election judges

Illinois high school student election judges

High school students in many states across the country are permitted to serve as election judges (poll workers) in their states, even when the students are not yet old enough to vote. In the 41 states that allow high school students to serve as election judges, the laws typically allow for students to work if they are 16 years of age and in good academic standing at their schools. Specific requirements vary from state to state. Some states do not allow high school students to serve as election judges, or the law has no specific provisions for persons who are not yet eligible to vote. The following states permit high school students to serve as election judges:[11] Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The State of Illinois, specifically Chicago, has a robust model. Chicago's contingencies of student judges are the largest in the country. Illinois law[12] provided that students meet the following criteria to serve as Election Judges:

  • Be a high school junior or senior in good standing;
  • Have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;
  • Be a U.S. citizen by Election Day;
  • Be able to read, write, and speak English;
  • Successfully complete a 4-hour training session;
  • Be able to work on Election Day beginning at 5 a.m. until all duties are completed after the polls close;
  • Be recommended by his/her high school principal;
  • Have the written approval of his/her parent or legal guardian.,[13][14]

There is no minimum age requirement to serve as a student election judge in Illinois. A maximum of two high school students, 1 from each party, may serve in each precinct.[15] In the City of Chicago, a partnership between the Chicago Board of Elections and Mikva Challenge, a non-partisan civic engagement organization, has contributed to the Election Board leading the nation in the utilization of student judges.[16]

See also

Statewide offices
Elected officials

References
  1. Illinois State Board of Elections (PDF) (pamphlet), Springfield, Illinois: State Board of Elections, 2018-09-18, retrieved 2018-12-01
  2. J. Pomante II, Michael; Li, Quan (15 Dec 2020). "Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020". Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy. 19 (4): 503–509. doi:10.1089/elj.2020.0666. S2CID 225139517.
  3. "Information For Voters". Springfield, Illinois: State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  4. State Board of Elections (10 ILCS 5/1A-8) as of 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  5. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Presidential General Election Results Comparison - Illinois". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  6. de Souza Guedes, Dorothy (March 26, 2001). "Illinois' consolidated elections are costly, but haven't increased voter turnout". Quad City Times (online ed.). Davenport, Iowa. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  7. Time of Holding Elections (10 ILCS 5/2A-1.1) as of 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  8. Time of Holding Elections (10 ILCS 5/2A-1.1a) as of 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  9. Time of Holding Elections (10 ILCS 5/2A-1). Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  10. 10 ILCS 5/25-7 ILCS as of 2015-07-31. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  11. State Profiles Archived 2014-06-11 at the Wayback Machine; American Education EDU;
  12. SB0387s; regarding "Election Judge HS Seniors"; passed on July 29, 1999.
  13. article; Chicago Elections on line.
  14. Legislation; Illinois Government.
  15. Student Election Judges; Cook County Clerk website; .
  16. Mikva Challenge Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine; organization website; .
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