AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Illinois on Election Day

[October 22, 2024]  By LEAH ASKARINAM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The race for president tops the list of federal, state and local contests in Illinois, where voters have supported the Democratic presidential nominee for decades but lower-ballot contests are more competitive.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Republican former President Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy are on the presidential ballot. The last Republican presidential candidate to win in Illinois was George H.W. Bush in 1988.

In the U.S. House, incumbents are running for reelection in all 17 districts. That includes Democratic freshman Eric Sorensen, whose 17th Congressional District stretches from Rockford through central Illinois. He faces Republican Joe McGraw in the state’s most competitive congressional race.

Voters will also weigh in on three advisory questions, which are non-binding, including one that asks voters whether health insurance plans that provide coverage for pregnancy benefits should also cover reproductive treatments such as in vitro fertilization.

Chicago is holding its first school board elections, a key step as the city transitions from a mayor-appointed school board to one elected by voters. That transition has been rife with conflict. Mayor Brandon Johnson named an entirely new board in October after all seven members resigned.

The Associated Press doesn’t make projections and will declare a winner only when it has determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race hasn’t been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, like candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear it hasn’t declared a winner and explain why.

Here’s a look at what to expect in the 2024 election in Illinois:

Election Day
Nov. 5.

Poll closing time
8 p.m. ET.

Presidential electoral votes
19 awarded to the statewide winner.

Key races and candidates
President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Independent).

17th Congressional District: Sorensen (D) vs. McGraw (R).

Ballot measures: Advisory Question 1 (civil penalties for election worker interference), Advisory Question 2 (create new tax bracket), Advisory Question 3 (expand reproductive health coverage).

Other races of interest
U.S. House, state Senate, state House, state Supreme Court, Chicago Board of Education.

Past presidential results
2020: Biden (D) 58%, Trump (R) 41%, AP race call: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, 8 p.m. ET.

Voter registration and turnout
Registered voters: 8,845,816 (as of Sep. 25, 2024).

Voter turnout in Nov. 2020: 67% of registered voters.

Pre-Election Day voting
Votes cast before Election Day 2020: about 67% of the total vote.

Votes cast before Election Day 2022: about 39% of the total vote.

Votes cast before Election Day 2024: See AP Advance Vote tracker.

How long does vote-counting take?
First votes reported, Nov. 3, 2020: 8:09 p.m. ET.

By midnight ET: about 74% of total votes cast were reported.

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AP writers Hannah Fingerhut and Maya Sweedler contributed to this report.

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Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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