ILLINOIS – Registered voters In Illinois, including St. Louis’ Metro East region, will decide on several candidates and ballot issues for the Nov. 5, 2024 general election. Some of the items on your ballot will be determined by where you live.
Voter registration
Voter registration deadlines by mail and online have passed in Illinois. However, Illinois voters can register to vote in-person at any early voting location or at a polling place on Election Day. Two forms of identification are required to register, including one with your current address of residence when you register in-person.
To verify your Illinois voter registration ahead of the election, click here.
How to vote
Polling places open at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m. on election day. As long as you are registered to vote and still in line to vote by 7 p.m. on Nov. 5, you can cast a ballot.
Early voting is also available in the state of Illinois through Monday, Nov. 4. To check on early voting opportunities and polling places within your Illinois jurisdiction, click here.
What’s on my ballot?
All registered voters in Illinois 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)
From there, many of the voting items will depend on the voter’s jurisdiction within the state of Illinois.
Sample ballots in the Metro East:
Check with your local election authority if you are voting elsewhere in the state of Illinois.
Some voters in the state of Illinois will have the opportunity to vote in one race for an Illinois United States Representative seat, depending on your jurisdiction. Two common common such races in the Mero East include:
13th District – Nikki Budzinski (Democrat) or Joshua Lloyd (Republican)
15th District – Mary E. Miller (Republican) – Running unopposed
Additionally, voters will have the opportunity to decide on candidates for various districts in the Illinois House of Representatives, though the candidates set to appear on ballots will depend on one’s jurisdiction.
Judges
Some Illinois voters will have the opportunity to vote for the retention of judges within the circuit court that represents their jurisdiction.
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 number of judges on ballots across different counties could vary from zero to one or multiple.
State ballot measures
All Illinois voters will have the opportunity to vote on three proposals 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.
Municipal races
There will also be a limited number of races for various counties and municipalities in the general election. These could be for various county leadership positions, propositions for changes like tax increases or possibly more non-binding votes.
Voters from multiple counties in Illinois, including Madison County and others in the St. Louis metropolitan area, will vote on an advisory referendum question about the possibility of splitting Cook County, home to Chicago and many of its suburbs, from the state of Illinois.
Like the three state questions, these ballots decisions are non-binding, so it doesn’t guarantee such a change will happen.
The Cook County-themed ballot question will read: “Shall the board of _______ County correspond with the boards of other counties of Illinois, outside of Cook County, about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state and to seek admission to the Union as such, subject to the approval of the people?“
A majority “yes” vote would express support for a local county board to correspond with othe counties to split Cook County from Illinois, while a majority “no” vote would indicate opposition to this concept.
Voters are encouraged to check on candidates to check on resources from their local election authority to determine what local ballot measures will appear on their ballot.
