# Elections in Illinois

Elections in Illinois :
Federal government
U.S. Presidential elections
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
Dem
Rep
1988
1992
1996
Dem
Rep
2000
Dem
Rep
2004
Dem
Rep
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
Dem
Rep
2016
Dem
Rep
2020
Dem
Rep
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate elections
1818
1819
1823
1824
1824 sp
1825
1830 sp
1831
1835
1837
1843
1846
1849
1849 sp
1853
1859
1861
1863 sp
1867
1879
1882
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1885 sp
1887 sp
1888
1890
1894
1896
1897
1901
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1907
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1914
1918
1920
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1928 sp
1930
1932
1936
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1940 sp
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1970 sp
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2010 sp
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
U.S. House elections
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1819
1820
1822
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1826
1828
1831
1832
1834
1836
1838
1840
1842
1844
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1859
6th sp
1860
1861
6th sp
1862
1864
1866
1868
1870
1871
AL sp
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1895
10th sp
18th sp
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
4th sp
1920
1922
AL sp
1923
2nd sp
4th sp
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
19th sp
1946
1948
1950
1952
1953
7th sp
1954
1956
1957
7th sp
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1969
13th sp
1970
6th sp
1972
15th sp
1973
7th sp
1974
1975
5th sp
1976
1978
1980
10th sp
1982
1983
1st sp
1984
1985
14th sp
1986
1988
21st sp
1990
1991
15th sp
1992
1994
1995
2nd sp
1996
1998
2000
1st
2002
2004
2006
2008
14th sp
2009
5th sp
2010
17th
2012
2013
2nd sp
2014
2015
18th sp
2016
2018
2020
2022
1st
2024 :
State government
General elections
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1969
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1818
1822
1826
1830
1834
1838
1842
1846
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections
1818
1822
1826
1830
1834
1838
1842
1846
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
Attorney General elections
2018
2022
Secretary of State elections
2022
Comptroller elections
2016
Senate elections
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
1964
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Judicial elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures and referendums
State capitol referendum (1834)
Cutback Amendment (1980)
Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992)
Illinois Governor Recall Amendment (2010)
Public Pension Amendment (2012)
Marsy's Law (2014)
Right to Vote Amendment (2014)
Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016)
Fair Tax (2020)
Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022) :
Chicago
General elections
2019
2023
Mayoral elections
1837
1838
1839
1840
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1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
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1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
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1865
1867
1869
1871
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1879
1881
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1885
1887
1889
1891
1893
1893 sp
1895
1897
1899
1901
1903
1905
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1977 sp
1979
1983
1987
1989 sp
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027
Aldermanic elections
1923
1925
1927
1929
2011
2015
2019
2023
Chicago Board of Education elections
2024
2026 :
Cook County
County elections
1946
1980
State's Attorney
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
vte :
Elections in Illinois provide for the election of over 40,000 elected seats across over 6,000 units of government.
In a 2020 study, Illinois was ranked as the 4th easiest state for citizens to vote in.

## 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. 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.
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.

## Elections held

United States presidential election results for Illinois :
| Year | Republican / Whig | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 2,449,079 | 43.33% | 3,062,863 | 54.19% | 140,161 | 2.48% |
| 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% |
| 1832 | 6,745 | 31.40% | 14,609 | 68.01% | 127 | 0.59% |
| 1828 | 4,662 | 32.78% | 9,560 | 67.22% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1824 | 1,516 | 32.46% | 1,272 | 27.23% | 1,883 | 40.31% |

### 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.
The election day for the general election is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even year, 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.
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. Its associated consolidated primary election is held on the preceding last Tuesday in February. The consolidated election was established in 1982; before this, many local governments held separate elections on unrelated days at unrelated places.

### 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.

#### Vacancies
##### 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.

## 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: 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 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.,
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. 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.