ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. – Voters across the Metro East, including St. Clair County, are preparing to go to the polls for the November general election.
This is a guide for registered voters within St. Clair County. You can see your sample ballot here.
Ballots consist of various amendments, judges, presidential choices, and ballot issues. Election officials encourage vote absentee as it will take extra time to fill out the ballot, which could create longer lines of waiting on Nov. 5.
U.S. President
All voters in St. Clair County will have the opportunity to vote for the U.S. presidential ticket, selecting a president and vice president.
Donald Trump/J.D. Vance (Republican)
Kamala D. Harris/Tim Walz (Democrat)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr./Nicole Shanahan (Independent)
U.S. Representative
All voters in St. Clair County will have the opportunity to vote in one race for an Illinois United States Representative seat.
Incumbent Nikki Budzinski (Democrat) and challenger Joshua Lloyd (Republican) are up for election.
Illinois Rep. for St. Clair County
One district seat that represent parts of St. Clair County within the Illinois House of Representatives has a candidate up for election. Incumbent Jay Hoffman (Democrat) is running for the seat unopposed.
County seats
All voters in St. Clair County will have the opportunity to vote for candidates in eight county seats.
State’s Attorney
Jim Gomric (Democrat).
Gomric is running unopposed.
Board Chairman
Ryan Musick (Republican) or Mark Kern (Democrat)
Circuit Clerk
Cindi McDonald (Republican) or Kinnis Williams, Sr. (Democrat)
Coroner
Dean Darnall (Republican) or Calvin Dye, Sr. (Deomcrat)
County Auditor
Patty A. Sprague (Democratic)
Sprague is running unopposed.
County Recorder
Jason Madlock (Republican) or Michael P. Crockett, Jr. (Democrat)
County Board of Review
Tyler Thompson (Republican) or Amanda Warma (Democrat)
County Board of Review (Unexpiring term)
Brian Triska (Republican) or Irma G. Golliday (Democrat)
Regional education leader
All voters in St. Clair County will have the opportunity to vote for regional superintendent of schools to represent St. Clair County. Lori Costello is running unopposed on the ballot to serve an unexpired two-year term.
Judges
All St. Clair County voters will have the opportunity to vote for the retention of five circuit judges within Illinois’ 20th Judicial Circuit Court.
If a judge nears the end of a term in Illinois, he or she is up for retention in the next closest general election so long as a committee from the Illinois State Bar Association extends a recommendation.
The committee considers a variety of information about each judge, including lawyers’ ratings of judges, jurors’ ratings of some trial judges, and written opinions from judges. A recommendation from the committee determines that the judge substantially meets the overall judicial performance standard and will appear on the next general election ballot.
Once up for retention, a simple majority of “yes” votes, at least more than 50% of voters, allows the judge in office for the next upcoming term.
The Illinois Bar Association lists dozens of judges up for retention in the November across more than 100 counties. The following judges are up for retention in St. Clair County:
Zina R. Cruse
Andrew J. Gleeson
Chris Kolker
John J. O’Gara
Heinz Rudolf
Click here for more information on each of St. Clair County’s judges seeking retention.
State ballot measures
All St. Clair County voters will have the opportunity to vote on three Illinois propositions referenced as “statewide advisory questions.”
The advisory questions are considered non-binding, so the measures do not ensure such a change would happen, though state officials will review the results to learn more about possible changes residents may support in the state of Illinois.
The approval of an advisory question may encouraged lawmakers to introduce legislation or policy changes based on voter preferences. For these advisory questions to become a reality, however, it would still require normal legislative processes in Illinois, including approval from the state’s general assembly and governor.
FIRST-LISTED QUESTION
The first-listed advisory question asks, “Should any candidate appearing on the Illinois ballot for federal, State, or local office be subject to civil penalties if the candidate interferes or attempts to interfere with an election worker’s official duties?”
A majority “yes” vote would suggest support for imposing penalties on candidates who interfere with election worker duties, while a majority “no” vote would indicate opposition to potential penalties.
SECOND-LISTED QUESTION
The second-listed advisory question asks, “Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to create an additional 3% tax on income greater than $1,000,000 for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief?”
A majority “yes” vote would indicate support for creating a 3% tax for people with an income above $1 million and using those funds for property tax relief. A majority “no” vote would suggest opposition to such a change and a preference to maintain Illinois’ current tax structure without this additional tax.
THIRD-LISTED QUESTION
The third-listed advisory question asks, “Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization, be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments?”
A majority “yes” vote would suggest support for a state requirement to cover all IVF treatments through state health insurance plans. A majority “no” vote would indicate opposition and leave current policies around Illinois health insurance plans unchanged.
Local ballot measures
There are no county-wide propositions on St. Clair County ballots for the November 2024 election, according to sample ballot.
