Illinois Secretary of State election, 2026

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← 2022
Illinois Secretary of State
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: November 3, 2025
Primary: March 17, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Illinois
Ballotpedia analysis
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Illinois executive elections
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Illinois is holding an election for secretary of state on November 3, 2026. The primary is March 17, 2026. The filing deadline was November 3, 2025.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• Illinois Secretary of State election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
• Illinois Secretary of State election, 2026 (March 17 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

General election

The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois Secretary of State

Incumbent Alexi Giannoulias is running in the Democratic primary for Illinois Secretary of State on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
		Alexi Giannoulias

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Illinois Secretary of State

Walter Adamczyk and Diane Harris are running in the Republican primary for Illinois Secretary of State on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
		Walter Adamczyk
		Diane Harris

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

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No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Illinois

Election information in Illinois: Nov. 3, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 6, 2026
• By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 6, 2026
• Online: Oct. 18, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 2, 2026
• By mail: Received by Oct. 29, 2026
• Online: Oct. 29, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 3, 2026
• By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 3, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Sep. 24, 2026 to Nov. 2, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CT)

Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.

2022

See also: Illinois Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for Illinois Secretary of State

Alexi Giannoulias defeated Dan Brady, Jon Stewart, and Michelle Turney in the general election for Illinois Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alexi Giannoulias (D)	54.3	2,220,713
		Dan Brady (R)	43.6	1,783,070
		Jon Stewart (L)	2.1	87,092
	Submit photo	Michelle Turney (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	73

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,090,948
= 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

• Jesse White (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois Secretary of State

Alexi Giannoulias defeated Anna Valencia, David Moore, and Sidney Moore in the Democratic primary for Illinois Secretary of State on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alexi Giannoulias	52.1	452,221
		Anna Valencia	35.0	303,671
		David Moore	9.0	77,983
		Sidney Moore	3.9	33,762

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 867,637
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Hastings (D)
• Pat Dowell (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Illinois Secretary of State

Dan Brady defeated John Milhiser in the Republican primary for Illinois Secretary of State on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dan Brady	76.4	550,700
	Submit photo	John Milhiser	23.6	170,496

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 721,196
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michelle Turney (R)

2018

See also: Illinois Secretary of State election, 2018

General election

General election for Illinois Secretary of State

Incumbent Jesse White defeated Jason Helland and Steve Dutner in the general election for Illinois Secretary of State on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jesse White (D)	68.3	3,120,207
		Jason Helland (R)	29.2	1,336,079
		Steve Dutner (L)	2.5	114,556

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,570,842
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois Secretary of State

Incumbent Jesse White advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois Secretary of State on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jesse White	100.0	1,209,978

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,209,978
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Hastings (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Illinois Secretary of State

Jason Helland advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois Secretary of State on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jason Helland	100.0	609,190

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 609,190
= 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

• Joshua C. Griffin (R)

2014

See also: Illinois secretary of state election, 2014

Secretary of State of Illinois, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jesse White Incumbent	65.7%	2,374,849
	Republican	Mike Webster	31.4%	1,134,452
	Libertarian	Chris Michel	2.9%	104,498
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0%	809
Total Votes				3,614,608
Election results via Illinois State Board of Elections

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
• Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
• State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
• Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

• Presidential elections
• Statewide elections
• State partisanship
• Demographics

See also: Presidential voting trends in Illinois and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, Illinois

District	Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
Illinois' 1st	65.0%	33.0%
Illinois' 2nd	66.0%	33.0%
Illinois' 3rd	65.0%	34.0%
Illinois' 4th	63.0%	35.0%
Illinois' 5th	68.0%	31.0%
Illinois' 6th	52.0%	47.0%
Illinois' 7th	82.0%	17.0%
Illinois' 8th	53.0%	46.0%
Illinois' 9th	68.0%	31.0%
Illinois' 10th	60.0%	38.0%
Illinois' 11th	55.0%	44.0%
Illinois' 12th	28.0%	71.0%
Illinois' 13th	54.0%	44.0%
Illinois' 14th	52.0%	47.0%
Illinois' 15th	29.0%	69.0%
Illinois' 16th	38.0%	61.0%
Illinois' 17th	52.0%	47.0%
Source: The Downballot

2016-2024

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2016	2020	2024
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2016	2020	2024
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2024 presidential election, 72.8% of Illinoisans lived in one of the state's 12 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 24.7% lived in one of 88 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Illinois was Solid Democratic, having voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Joe Biden (D) in 2020, and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Illinois following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Illinois county-level statistics, 2024
Solid Democratic	12	72.8%
Solid Republican	88	24.7%
Trending Democratic	2	2.5%
Total voted Democratic	14	75.3%
Total voted Republican	88	24.7%

Historical voting trends

Illinois presidential election results (1900-2024)

• 17 Democratic wins
• 15 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Illinois

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Illinois.

U.S. Senate election results in Illinois

Race	Winner	Runner up
2022	56.8%	41.5%
2020	54.9%	38.9%
2016	54.9%	39.8%
2014	53.5%	42.7%
2010	48.0%	46.4%
Average	53.6	41.9

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Illinois

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Illinois.

Gubernatorial election results in Illinois

Race	Winner	Runner up
2022	54.9%	42.4%
2018	54.5%	38.8%
2014	50.3%	46.4%
2010	46.8%	45.9%
2006	49.8%	39.3%
Average	51.3	42.6

See also: Party control of Illinois state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Illinois' congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Illinois
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	14	16
Republican	0	3	3
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	17	19

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Illinois' top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Illinois, October 2025

Office	Officeholder
Governor	J.B. Pritzker
Lieutenant Governor	Juliana Stratton
Secretary of State	Alexi Giannoulias
Attorney General	Kwame Raoul

State legislature

Illinois State Senate

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	40
	Republican Party	19
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		59

Illinois House of Representatives

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	78
	Republican Party	40
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		118

Trifecta control

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

The table below details demographic data in Illinois and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.

Demographic Data for Illinois
	Illinois	United States
Population	12,812,508	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	55,512	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	63.3%	63.4%
Black/African American	13.8%	12.4%
Asian	5.8%	5.8%
Native American	0.5%	0.9%
Pacific Islander	0.4%	0.4%
Other (single race)	7.3%	6.6%
Multiple	9.2%	10.7%
Hispanic/Latino	18.5%	19%
Education
High school graduation rate	90.3%	89.4%
College graduation rate	37.2%	35%
Income
Median household income	$81,702	$78,538
Persons below poverty level	11.7%	12.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023).
**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.

Secretary of State elections in 2026

There are 26 secretary of state seats on the ballot in 2026.

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Illinois secretary of state official website

Footnotes

2026 state executive official elections

Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • U.S. Virgin Islands • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Lieutenant Governor

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Attorney General

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Secretary of State

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • North Dakota • Ohio • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Treasurer

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Auditor

Alabama • Arkansas • Delaware • Iowa • Massachusetts • Minnesota • Missouri • Nebraska • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • South Dakota • Vermont • Wyoming

Comptroller

California • Connecticut • Idaho • Illinois • Maryland • Nevada • New York • South Carolina • Texas

Education officials

Alabama (board of education) • Arizona (superintendent) • California (superintendent) • Colorado (board of education) • Colorado (board of regent) • District of Columbia (board of education) • Georgia (superintendent) • Guam (education board) • Idaho (superintendent) • Kansas (board of education) • Michigan (board of education) • Michigan (board of regent) • Michigan (board of trustees) • Michigan (board of governors) • Nebraska (board of education) • Nebraska (board of regents) • Nevada (board of regents) • New Mexico (board of education) • Northern Mariana Islands (board of education) • Ohio (board of education) • Oklahoma (superintendent) • South Carolina (superintendent) • Texas (board of education) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of education) • Utah (board of education) • Wyoming (superintendent)

Commissioners

Alabama (agriculture) • Alabama (public service) • Arizona (corporation) • Arizona (mine inspector) • Arkansas (public lands) • California (board of equalization) • California (insurance) • Florida (agriculture) • Georgia (agriculture) • Georgia (labor) • Georgia (insurance) • Georgia (public service) • Guam (utilities) • Hawaii (Hawaiian affairs) • Iowa (agriculture) • Kansas (insurance) • Louisiana (public service) • Massachusetts (governor's council) • Montana (public service) • Nebraska (public service) • New Hampshire (executive council) • New Mexico (public lands) • North Dakota (agriculture) • North Dakota (public service) • North Dakota (tax) • Oklahoma (corporation) • Oklahoma (insurance) • Oklahoma (labor) • Oregon (labor) • South Carolina (agriculture) • South Dakota (public lands) • South Dakota (public utilities) • Texas (agriculture) • Texas (public lands) • Texas (railroad) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of elections)

State executive offices

Offices

Governor • Lt. Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Schools • Insurance Commissioner • Controller • Agriculture Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commissioner

States

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Elections

2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010

Features

Chart of state executive officers • Compensation • How gubernatorial vacancies are filled • How vacancies are filled in state executive offices • State executive officials serving in home states • State government trifectas • State of the state addresses • Term limits

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