| Elections in Illinois |
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Elections in Illinois provide for the election of over 40,000 elected seats across over 6,000 units of government. [1]
In a 2020 study, Illinois was ranked as the 4th easiest state for citizens to vote in. [2]
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]
| Year | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 2,449,079 | 43.42% | 3,062,863 | 54.30% | 128,371 | 2.28% |
| 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% |
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]
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]
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]
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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.[ citation needed ]
The State of Illinois, specifically Chicago, has a robust model.[ according to whom? ] 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:
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]
The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and recommendations to the Chicago City Council, is active in the enforcement of the city's ordinances, submits the city's annual budget and appoints city officers, department commissioners or directors, and members of city boards and commissions.
Abner Joseph Mikva was an American politician, federal judge, and legal scholar. He was a member of the Democratic Party. After serving in the Illinois House of Representatives, Mikva ran for congress in 1966 but lost the primary to incumbent congressman Barrett O'Hara. In 1968, Mikva defeated O'Hara. Mikva served in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 2nd congressional district (1969–1973) and 10th congressional district (1975–1979). He was appointed as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1979 to 1994. He served as the White House Counsel from 1994 to 1995 during Bill Clinton's presidency. He was one of the few people in modern times to serve in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Federal government.
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is the financial and oversight body for the three transit agencies in northeastern Illinois; the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, and Pace, which are called Service Boards in the RTA Act. RTA serves Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
The Cutback Amendment is an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that abolished multi-member districts in the Illinois House of Representatives and the process of cumulative voting. Before the amendment, the Illinois General Assembly was divided into 59 legislative districts, each of which elected one senator and three representatives. In state house elections, voters could vote three times for one candidate or spread their votes between two or three candidates. When the Cutback Amendment was approved in 1980, the total number of House representatives was reduced from 177 to 118 and members were elected from single-member districts formed by dividing the 59 Senate districts in half. The movement to pass the bill was largely led by Democrats Pat Quinn and Harry Yourell.
Township High School District 211 is a school district located in Cook County, Illinois, and is the largest high school district in Illinois. District 211 serves the communities of Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Palatine, and Schaumburg, and portions of Arlington Heights, Elk Grove, Hanover Park, Roselle, Rolling Meadows, Streamwood, and South Barrington in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Thomas J. Dart is an American attorney, politician, and law enforcement officer serving as the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois. He previously served as a member of both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly.
Barack Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he was elected to the United States Senate. During this part of his career, Obama continued teaching constitutional law part time at the University of Chicago Law School as he had done as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004.
Tom Cullerton is an American politician. Cullerton was a member of the Illinois Senate representing the 23rd district from 2013 until resigning in 2022. Shortly after, he pleaded guilty to 1 count of embezzlement. During his tenure, the 23rd district spanned northern DuPage County and included all or parts of Addison, Bloomingdale, Bartlett, Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Itasca, Roselle, Villa Park, West Chicago, Wayne, Wood Dale and Medinah. Prior to his service in the Illinois Senate he was the Village President of Villa Park from 2009 to 2013 and served one term as a village trustee from 2005 to 2009.
The State Board of Elections (SBE) is an independent agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. The SBE, as an acronym, refers both to the eight-member bipartisan board of directors and to the agency that it oversees. The members of the SBE, who are appointed by the Governor of Illinois, in turn appoint an executive director who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the agency. The agency is headquartered in the state capital of Springfield, with a second headquarters in Chicago.
Anthony G. Scariano was an American judge, politician, and lawyer.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Illinois on November 6, 2018. The elections for Illinois's 18 congressional districts, Governor, statewide constitutional officers, Illinois Senate, and Illinois House were held on this date.
Special districts in Illinois are forms of local government that are responsible for a narrow set of responsibilities, as opposed to counties, townships, and municipal governments which have a wide range of responsibilities. School districts and community college boards are not usually considered special-purpose governments despite their narrow focus on education.
A regional office of education (ROE), sometimes called a regional superintendent's office, is a level of educational administration in Illinois. Each one has an educational service region, or simply region, consisting of one or more counties, and supervisory jurisdiction over the school districts lying primarily in that county or those counties. The office is primarily under the control of a publicly-elected "regional superintendent of schools", formerly known as the "county superintendent of schools", but also has a publicly-elected "regional board of school trustees", formerly known as a "county board of school trustees".
The Cook County, Illinois, general election was held on November 6, 2018.
The Cook County, Illinois, general election was held on November 8, 2016.
The Cook County, Illinois, general election was held on November 4, 2014.
The Cook County, Illinois, general election was held on November 2, 2004.
The Cook County, Illinois, general election was held on November 5, 2002.
The Cook County, Illinois, general election was held on November 3, 1998.
State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020
