Democratic Party primaries in Illinois, 2018

Elections in Illinois, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Sept. 27 - Nov. 5
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 20

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: Yes
• Voter ID: No
• Poll times: 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: U.S. House • Governor • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • Local ballot measures • Municipal • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

Democratic Party primaries, 2018

Primary Date

March 20, 2018

Federal elections

Democratic primaries for U.S. House

State elections

Democratic primaries for Illinois legislature

Democratic primary for governor

Democratic primary for lieutenant governor

Democratic primary for attorney general

Democratic primary for secretary of state

State party

Democratic Party of Illinois

State political party revenue

Democratic Party primary elections were held in Illinois on March 20, 2018, in order to select the party's candidates for Illinois' 2018 elections. Among the primaries that were held were elections for all 18 of the state's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Illinois governor and lieutenant governor, and state attorney general and secretary of state.

Of the 18 congressional seats up for election, notable primaries included a challenge to the 3rd District's seven-term Democratic incumbent and a seat left open for the first time since 1989 in the 4th district. Both districts were proxy elections for intra-party battles between more progressive-leaning wings of the party and establishment Democrats. Incumbent Daniel Lipinski won the race with 50.9 percent of the vote in the 3rd District, while his opponent and political newcomer Marie Newman had 49.1 percent with 97 percent of precincts reporting. Newman conceded the race on the morning of March 21st. In the 4th District, Cook County Commissioner and former Chicago mayoral candidate Jesus "Chuy" Garcia won the primary by more than 40 points.

Capitol Fax reported that 41 percent of Democratic House candidates in Illinois who filed to run in 2018 were women, which was the highest percentage of female candidates to run for these seats in the three election cycles leading up to it.

Businessman and Hyatt Hotels heir J.B. Pritzker won the primary election for Illinois governor, defeating five other candidates. Tim Murphy of Mother Jones identified this race as one of seven primaries that would shape the future of the Democratic Party. Pritzker unseated Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), causing the Democratic Party to gain a trifecta in Illinois.

In the Illinois Senate, Sen. Ira Silverstein (D) was defeated by former union official Ram Villivalam. Silverstein was accused of sexual misconduct in November 2017, and although he denied the claims, he stepped down as Senate majority caucus chairman. Silverstein made it onto the primary ballot with two signatures to spare; nearly half of the 2,000 he submitted were thrown out by the Chicago Board of Elections. Villivalam was backed by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D), the SEIU, and the Chicago Tribune.

Battleground primaries

Battleground elections are those that Ballotpedia expected would either be more competitive than other races or attract significant national attention.

• Illinois' 3rd Congressional District election (March 20, 2018 Democratic primary)
• Illinois' 4th Congressional District election (March 20, 2018 Democratic primary)
• Illinois' 5th Congressional District election (March 20, 2018 Democratic primary)
• Illinois' 6th Congressional District election (March 20, 2018 Democratic primary)
• Illinois' 13th Congressional District election (March 20, 2018 Democratic primary)
• Illinois' 14th Congressional District election (March 20, 2018 Democratic primary)
• Illinois gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (March 20 Democratic primary)
• Illinois Attorney General election, 2018 (March 20 Democratic primary)

Top election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Illinois

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		J.B. Pritzker	45.1	597,756
		Daniel K. Biss	26.7	353,625
		Chris Kennedy	24.4	322,730
		Tio Hardiman	1.6	21,075
		Bob Daiber	1.1	15,009
		Robert Marshall	1.1	14,353

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,324,548
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Illinois

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kwame Raoul	30.2	390,472
		Pat Quinn	27.2	352,425
	Submit photo	Sharon Fairley	12.7	164,304
		Nancy Rotering	9.5	123,446
		Scott Drury	7.9	102,193
	Submit photo	Jesse Ruiz	5.4	70,158
		Renato Mariotti	4.0	51,902
		Aaron Goldstein	3.0	39,196

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,294,096
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 3

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel Lipinski	51.1	48,675
		Marie Newman	48.9	46,530

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 95,205
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 4

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jesus Garcia	66.2	49,631
		Sol Flores	21.9	16,398
		Richard Gonzalez	11.9	8,921

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 74,950
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (D)
• Raymond Lopez (D)
• Neli Vazquez Rowland (D)
• Joe Moreno (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 5

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Quigley	62.5	66,254
		Sameena Mustafa	24.1	25,591
		Benjamin Thomas Wolf	9.5	10,032
		Steve Schwartzberg	4.0	4,196

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 106,073
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 6

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sean Casten	29.5	19,774
		Kelly Mazeski	26.8	17,984
		Carole Cheney	17.4	11,663
		Amanda Howland	12.7	8,483
		Becky Anderson Wilkins	6.0	4,001
		Jennifer Zordani	4.1	2,743
		Ryan Huffman	3.5	2,365

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 67,013
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Betsy Londrigan	45.7	24,515
		Erik Jones	22.4	12,024
		David Gill	14.4	7,757
		Jonathan Ebel	13.3	7,167
		Angel Sides	4.2	2,237

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 53,700
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Carol Ammons (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 14

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lauren Underwood	57.3	29,391
		Matt Brolley	13.4	6,845
		Jim Walz	10.0	5,100
		Victor Swanson	7.0	3,597
		John Hosta	5.0	2,578
		George Weber	5.0	2,570
		Daniel Roldan-Johnson	2.3	1,170

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 51,251
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Federal elections

U.S. House

See also: United States House elections in Illinois (March 20, 2018 Democratic primaries)

The 2018 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Illinois took place on November 6, 2018. Voters elected 18 candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts. In 2017, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee identified Illinois' 6th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Congressional Districts as targeted races.

District 1

 Democratic primary candidates

• Bobby Rush (Incumbent) ✔

Did not make the ballot:

• Howard Brookins
• Demond Drummer

District 2

 Democratic primary candidates

• Robin Kelly (Incumbent) ✔
• Marcus Lewis

District 3

 Democratic primary candidates

• Daniel Lipinski (Incumbent) ✔
• Marie Newman

District 4

 Democratic primary candidates

• Sol Flores
• Jesus Garcia ✔
• Richard Gonzalez

Did not make the ballot:

• Raymond Lopez
• Joe Moreno
• Carlos Ramirez-Rosa
• Neli Vazquez Rowland

District 5

 Democratic primary candidates

• Mike Quigley (Incumbent) ✔
• Sameena Mustafa
• Steve Schwartzberg
• Benjamin Thomas Wolf

District 6

 Democratic primary candidates

• Becky Anderson Wilkins
• Sean Casten ✔
• Carole Cheney
• Amanda Howland
• Ryan Huffman
• Kelly Mazeski
• Jennifer Zordani

District 7

 Democratic primary candidates

• Danny K. Davis (Incumbent) ✔
• Anthony Clark

Did not make the ballot:

• Ahmed Salim

District 8

 Democratic primary candidates

• Raja Krishnamoorthi (Incumbent) ✔

District 9

 Democratic primary candidates

• Jan Schakowsky (Incumbent) ✔

District 10

 Democratic primary candidates

• Brad Schneider (Incumbent) ✔

District 11

 Democratic primary candidates

• Bill Foster (Incumbent) ✔

District 12

 Democratic primary candidates

• David Bequette
• Brendan Kelly ✔

Did not make the ballot:

• Charles Koen

District 13

 Democratic primary candidates

• Jonathan Ebel
• David Gill
• Erik Jones
• Betsy Londrigan ✔ 
• Angel Sides

Did not make the ballot:

• Carol Ammons

---

= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

District 14

 Democratic primary candidates

• Matt Brolley
• John Hosta
• Daniel Roldan-Johnson
• Victor Swanson
• Lauren Underwood ✔
• Jim Walz
• George Weber

District 15

 Democratic primary candidates

• Kevin Gaither ✔
• Carl Spoerer

District 16

 Democratic primary candidates

• Amy Murri Briel
• Sara Dady ✔
• Neill Mohammad
• Beth Vercolio-Osmund

District 17

 Democratic primary candidates

• Cheri Bustos (Incumbent) ✔

District 18

 Democratic primary candidates

• Brian Deters
• Darrel Miller
• Junius Rodriguez ✔

State elections

Illinois Party Control: 1992-2025
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial elections

See also: Illinois gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (March 20 Democratic primary)

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See also: Illinois gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018 (March 20 Democratic primary)

 Democratic primary candidates

• Daniel K. Biss
• Bob Daiber
• Tio Hardiman
• Chris Kennedy
• Robert Marshall
• J.B. Pritzker ✔

Did not file

• Alex Paterakis

Withdrew from race

• Scott Drury - State Rep.
• Ameya Pawar - Chicago Alderman

Removed from ballot

• Terry Getz

 Democratic primary candidates

• Patricia Avery
• Dennis Cole
• Ra Joy
• Juliana Stratton ✔
• Jonathan Todd
• Litesa Wallace

Attorney general election

See also: Illinois Attorney General election, 2018 (March 20 Democratic primary)

 Democratic primary candidates

• Scott Drury
• Sharon Fairley
• Aaron Goldstein
• Renato Mariotti
• Pat Quinn
• Kwame Raoul ✔
• Nancy Rotering
• Jesse Ruiz

Secretary of state election

See also: Illinois Secretary of State election, 2018 (March 20 Democratic primary)

 Democratic primary candidates

• Jesse White (Incumbent) ✔

Did not make the ballot:

• Michael Hastings

State party overview

See also: Democratic Party of Illinois

State political party revenue

See also: State political party revenue and State political party revenue per capita

State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws. The following table displays the Democratic Party of Illinois' revenue over a six-year period from 2011 to 2016. Revenue totals are broken down by account type and year. The data was compiled through publicly available state and federal campaign finance reports.

Democratic Party of Illinois revenue, 2011 to 2016
Year	Federal account	State account(s)	Total
2011	$198,008.89	$1,671,135.91	$1,869,144.80
2012	$2,420,419.84	$5,707,364.83	$8,127,784.67
2013	$384,588.83	$1,814,661.54	$2,199,250.37
2014	$4,318,760.57	$7,522,022.06	$11,840,782.63
2015	$776,004.38	$2,645,369.58	$3,421,373.96
2016	$5,067,981.94	$6,647,829.49	$11,715,811.43

Illinois compared to other states

The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following maps display total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic and Republican state party affiliates from 2011 to 2016. The blue map displays Democratic state parties and the red map displays Republican state parties. Click on a state below to view the state party's revenue per capita totals:

Total Democratic and Republican state political party revenue per capita in the United States, 2011-2016

Primary election scheduling

Illinois was the only state to hold a primary election on March 20, 2018.

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Illinois heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2016 elections, Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats in Illinois.
• Democrats held 11 of 18 U.S. House seats in Illinois.

State executives

• As of May 2018, Democrats held four of 7 state executive positions, Republicans held two, and the remaining position was officially nonpartisan.
• The governor of Illinois was Republican Bruce Rauner. The state held elections for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018.

State legislature

• Democrats controlled both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly. They had a 67-51 majority in the state House and a 37-22 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

• Illinois was under divided government, meaning that the two parties shared control of the state government. Bruce Rauner (R) served as governor, while Democrats controlled the state legislature.

2018 elections

See also: Illinois elections, 2018

Illinois held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• 18 U.S. House seats
• Governor and lieutenant governor
• Four lower state executive positions
• 39 of 59 state Senate seats
• 118 state House seats
• Municipal elections in Cook County

Demographics

Demographic data for Illinois
	Illinois	U.S.
Total population:	12,839,047	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	55,519	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	72.3%	73.6%
Black/African American:	14.3%	12.6%
Asian:	5%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	16.5%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	87.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	32.3%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$57,574	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	16.8%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Illinois. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Illinois' three largest cities were Chicago (pop. est. 2.7 million), Aurora (pop. est. 200,000), and Joliet (pop. est. 150,000).

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Illinois from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Illinois every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Illinois 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Hillary Clinton	55.8%	Donald Trump	38.8%	17.0%
2012	Barack Obama	57.6%	Mitt Romney	40.7%	16.9%
2008	Barack Obama	61.9%	John McCain	36.8%	25.1%
2004	John Kerry	54.8%	George W. Bush	44.5%	10.3%
2000	Al Gore	54.6%	George W. Bush	42.6%	12.0%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Illinois from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Illinois 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Tammy Duckworth	54.9%	Mark Kirk	39.8%	15.1%
2014	Dick Durbin	53.5%	Jim Oberweis	42.7%	10.8%
2010	Mark Kirk	48.0%	Alexander Giannoulias	46.4%	1.6%
2008	Dick Durbin	67.8%	Steve Sauerberg	28.5%	39.3%
2004	Barack Obama	70.0%	Alan Keyes	27.0%	43.0%
2002	Dick Durbin	60.3%	Jim Durkin	38.0%	22.3%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Illinois.

Election results (Governor), Illinois 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Bruce Rauner	50.3%	Pat Quinn	46.3%	4.0%
2010	Pat Quinn	46.8%	Bill Brady	45.9%	0.9%
2006	Rod Blagojevich	49.8%	Judy Baar Topinka	39.3%	10.5%
2002	Rod Blagojevich	52.2%	Jim Ryan	45.1%	7.1%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Illinois in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Illinois 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	7	38.9%	11	61.1%	D+4
2014	8	44.4%	10	55.6%	D+2
2012	6	33.3%	12	66.7%	D+6
2010	11	57.9%	8	42.1%	R+3
2008	7	36.8%	12	63.2%	D+5
2006	9	47.4%	10	52.6%	D+1
2004	9	47.4%	10	52.6%	D+1
2002	10	52.6%	9	47.4%	R+1
2000	10	50.0%	10	50.0%	Even

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Illinois Party Control: 1992-2025
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Illinois, state law provides for a closed primary where a voter must be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. However, voters state their affiliation at the polls and any voter may change their affiliation on the day of the primary. A voter's eligibility to vote a party's ballot may be challenged.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Poll times

In Illinois, all polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Illinois, a person must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of an Illinois precinct for at least 30 days prior to election day, and at least 18 years old by election day. A 17-year-old may vote in a primary if he or she will be 18 years old at the subsequent general election. Preregistration is available starting at age 16.

Regular registration closes during the period beginning 27 days prior to an election and ending two days after the election. Online registration closes 16 days prior to an election. Grace period registration is available in person through election day at certain locations.

Prospective voters can register online, by mail, or at any of the following locations:

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County Clerk's Office Board of Election Commissioner's Office City and Village Offices Township Offices Precinct Committeeman Schools Public Libraries Military Recruitment Offices

”

Two forms of identification are required to register in person, one of which must display the voter's current address.

Automatic registration

Illinois automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles and other designated automatic voter registration agencies.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Illinois has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Illinois allows same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Illinois law requires 30 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Illinois does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Registration Lookup page, run by the Illinois Board of Elections, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Illinois does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases. First-time voters who registered by mail and did not submit their driver’s license number, state ID number, last four digits of their social security number, or other form of ID are required to present identification showing their name and address before voting.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of August 2024. Click here for the Illinois State Board of Elections voting information page to ensure you have the most current information.

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A current and valid photo identification Utility bill Bank statement Government check Paycheck Lease or contract for residence Student ID & mail addressed to voter’s residence Government document

”

Early voting

Illinois permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.

Absentee voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee/by-mail in Illinois. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting by mail.

To vote by mail, a ballot application must be received by the election office between 90 and five days prior to the election if sent by mail. An application submitted in-person must be received no later than the day before the election. A returned absentee/mail-in ballot must then be postmarked no later than midnight the night before election and received no later than 14 days after the election.

Voters can sign up for a permanent vote-by-mail list and automatically receive vote-by-mail ballots for subsequent elections.

See also

Federal primaries in Illinois	State primaries in Illinois	Illinois state party apparatus	Illinois voter information
Democratic primaries for U.S. House	State government trifectas Democratic primary for governor Democratic primary for lieutenant governor Democratic primary for attorney general Democratic primary for secretary of state Democratic primaries for Illinois legislature	Democratic Party of Illinois Republican Party of Illinois State political party revenue	Voting in Illinois Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Illinois Redistricting in Illinois