* From the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform…

According to the US Census Bureau, there are 9.02 million eligible voters in the state of Illinois. As of the November 2016 election, 8.14 million of those are active, registered voters with the state.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, a registered voter is reported as “active” by the voter’s local election jurisdiction if they have registered or voted within the past 2-4 Presidential Election cycles, or if they confirmed their registration address within a short time after that period. This means that 90% of eligible voters in Illinois are registered and active in the state. […]

The largest group of new registrations (30%) came from 18-24 year-olds. These new registrations make up 2.8% of all active, registered voters in Illinois. Additionally, 53% of new registrations were made by women, roughly matching the 52% of eligible voters in Illinois who are female.

Turnout of Newly Registered Voters

Of the 762,546 people who registered to vote between the Primary and General Election, 73% (559,019) actually turned out to vote in the election. Below is a breakdown of voter turnout:

75% of women who registered in this period voted in the election
71% of men who registered in this period voted in the election
The highest turnout among new registrants was among voters aged 55-64, with 79% voting
The lowest turnout among new registrants was among voters aged 18-24, with 66% voting

These numbers include the voters who registered at their polling places on Election Day. About 80,000 of the over 5.6 million voters in the General Election registered same-day. This equates to:

1.4% of all Illinois voters in the 2016 election
11% of all new registrations between the 2016 Primary and General Election

About 5.3 million total voters turned out for the 2012 election in Illinois, and 5.5 million voted in 2008.

Conclusion
Overall, new registrations account for 9% of the total active, registered voters in Illinois. This large increase in voter registration has led to the highest number of registered voters Illinois has ever seen.

* Some charts…

       

8 Comments - wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 11:37 am: 2008: 5.5 million voters 2010: 3.5 million voters 2012: 5.3 million voters 2014: 3.5 million voters. The overwhelming majority of the drop-off in off-prez years is among Democratic voters. The 3D chess masters might wish to re-examine their entire approach to drumming up turn out in off-prez years. - WhoKnew - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 11:46 am: Well said “word”. Cause as we all know: If the 99% vote, what the 1% thinks doesn’t matter! - Amalia - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 11:50 am: one week to go until township elections April 4. there are some places where there are actual Republicans against actual Democrats on the ballot—ie not created township party names—so it’s our first chance to vote against Trump. vote people. act locally. - A guy - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 12:02 pm: To add to Sling’s thesis= ==2008: 5.5 million voters 2010: 3.5 million voters 2012: 5.3 million voters 2014: 3.5 million voters.=== 2016: 5.6 million voters. For different reasons, President Obama and President Trump have something in common: They both drive very large turnouts. - Ratso Rizzo - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 12:27 pm: What would it take to get our general election for governor aligned with the presidential election? Is it a simple law passed by a majority of the GA? Or does there need to be an amendment approved by either the public or supermajority of the GA? - titan - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 1:14 pm: +++ - Ratso Rizzo - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 12:27 pm: What would it take to get our general election for governor aligned with the presidential election? Is it a simple law passed by a majority of the GA? Or does there need to be an amendment approved by either the public or supermajority of the GA? +++ You’d have to amend Article V, Section 2 of State Constitution - back to the way it was before 1978 (when it was changed to move the Governor’s election year away from the President’s election year) - Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 2:17 pm: If it was up to Bruce, there’d be 3: himself, Griffin, and Uihlein - Ratso Rizzo - Wednesday, Mar 29, 17 @ 5:29 pm: Thanks Titan Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.