1966 Illinois elections

1966 Illinois elections

←  1964 November 8, 1966 1968  →
Turnout	73.54%

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 8, 1966. ^[1]

Primaries were held on June 14, 1966. ^[1]

Election information

1966 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Turnout

Turnout in the primary was 32.20%, with 1,791,494 ballots cast (1,060,189 Democratic and 731,305 Republican). ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Turnout in the general election was 73.54%, with 3,928,478 ballots cast. ^{[1] [3]}

Federal elections

United States Senate

Main article: 1966 United States Senate election in Illinois

See also: 1966 United States Senate elections

Incumbent Senator Paul Douglas, a Democrat seeking a fourth term, was defeated by Republican Charles H. Percy.

United States House

Main article: 1966 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois

See also: 1966 United States House of Representatives elections

All 24 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1966.

Republicans flipped one seat, leaving the Illinois House delegation to consist of 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans.

State elections

Treasurer

1966 Illinois State Treasurer election

←  1962 November 8, 1966 1970  →
Turnout	70.01% [1] [3]
Nominee Adlai Stevenson III Harris Rowe Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,889,595 1,849,940 Percentage 50.53% 49.47%
Treasurer before election William J. Scott Republican Elected Treasurer Adlai Stevenson III Democratic

Incumbent Treasurer was William J. Scott, a Republican. Democrat Adlai Stevenson III was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

Treasurer Democratic primary ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai E. Stevenson III	782,650	100
Total votes			782,650	100

Republican primary

Treasurer Republican primary ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harris Rowe	552,553	100
Total votes			552,553	100

General election

Treasurer election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Adlai Stevenson III	1,889,595	50.53
	Republican	Harris Rowe	1,849,940	49.47
	Write-in	Robert V. Sabonjian	124	0.00
	Write-in	Others	41	0.00
Total votes			3,739,700	100

Superintendent of Public Instruction

1966 Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction election

←  1962 November 7, 1966 1970  →
Turnout	69.24% [1] [3]
Nominee Ray Page Don M. Prince Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,999,279 1,699,367 Percentage 54.05% 45.95%
Superintendent before election Ray Page Republican Elected Superintendent Ray Page Republican

Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Ray Page, a Republican, won a second term.

Democratic primary

Superintendent of Public Instruction Democratic primary ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Don M. Prince	664,289	100
	Write-in	Others	3	0.0
Total votes			664,289	100

Republican primary

Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican primary ^{[1] [2]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ray Page (incumbent)	445,691	74.71
	Republican	Robert A. Campbell	150,896	25.29
Total votes			596,587	100

General election

Superintendent of Public Instruction election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ray Page (incumbent)	1,999,279	54.05
	Democratic	Don M. Prince	1,699,367	45.95
	Write-in	Others	5	0.00
Total votes			3,698,651	100

State Senate

Seats in the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1966. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1966. Republicans flipped control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

1966 Trustees of University of Illinois election

←  1964 November 8, 1966 1968  →

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois.

The election saw the election of new Republican members Donald R. Grimes, Ralph Crane Hahn, and James A. Weatherly. ^{[1] [4]}

Third-term incumbent Democrats Kenney E. Williamson and Frances Best Watkins lost reelection. ^{[1] [4]} Incumbent third-term Republican Wayne A. Johnston Sr. was not renominated. ^{[1] [4]}

Trustees of the University of Illinois election ^{[1] [4]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald R. Grimes	1,983,311	18.35
	Republican	Ralph C. Hahn	1,960,089.5	18.13
	Republican	James A. Weatherly	1,922,462	17.78
	Democratic	Frances Best Watkins (incumbent)	1,678,404.5	15.53
	Democratic	Kenney E. Williamson (incumbent)	1,634,341	15.12
	Democratic	Richard O. Hart	1,632,172	15.10
Total votes			10,810,780	100

Ballot measures

Three ballot measures were put before voters in 1966. One was a legislatively referred state statute, and two were legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

In order to be approved, legislatively referred state statutes required the support of a majority of those voting on the amendment. ^[1] In order to be placed on the ballot, proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendments needed to be approved by two-thirds of each house of the Illinois General Assembly. ^[5] In order to be approved, they required approval of either two-thirds of those voting on the amendment itself or a majority of all ballots cast in the general elections. ^[1]

County Officers' Re-Election Amendment

The County Officers' Re-Election Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, was put to a vote. It would have amended Section 8 of Article X of the Illinois Constitution. It failed to meet either threshold for passage. ^[1]

County Officers' Re-Election Amendment [1] [3]
Option	Votes	% of votes on referendum	% of all ballots cast
Yes	1,808,491	59.18	46.04
No	1,247,248	40.82	31.75
Total votes	3,055,739	100	77.78
Voter turnout	57.21%

General Banking Law Amendment

General Banking Law Amendment was approved by voters as a legislatively referred state statute. It modified the state's banking law. ^[6] To pass, it had required a majority of those voting on the article to approve it. ^[1]

General Banking Law Amendment ^{[1] [3] [6]}

Candidate		Votes	%
Yes		1,564,746	65.84
No		811,981	34.16
Total votes		2,376,727	100
Voter turnout		44.49%

Revenue Amendment

The Revenue Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, was put to a vote. It would have amended Sections 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 12, and 13 of Article IX of the Illinois Constitution. It failed to meet either threshold for passage. ^[1]

Revenue Amendment [1] [3]
Option	Votes	% of votes on referendum	% of all ballots cast
Yes	1,642,549	53.38	41.81
No	1,434,330	46.62	36.51
Total votes	3,076,879	100	78.32
Voter turnout	57.60%

Local elections

Local elections were held.

References

1. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 8, 1966 JUDICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, JUNE, 14, 1966" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 30, 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. Illinois Blue Book 1965-1966. Illinois Secretary of State. p. 862.
3. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 10, 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
4. "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
5. Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2
6. "Illinois General Banking Law Amendment (1966)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.