Voter turnout dips in St. Clair County, Trump takes sightly bigger bite. See the trends
Tuesday’s General Election brought a 9% drop in voter participation in St. Clair County compared to 2020, as well as a 1% increase in the portion of votes for President Elect Donald Trump.
Statewide, about 700,000 fewer Illinois residents voted in 2024 compared to 2020, although 5% of Illinois’ votes remained uncounted as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Nov. 5 election saw 59% of St. Clair County voters cast ballots, while 68% of the county’s registered voters turned out for 2020’s presidential election. Including East St. Louis’ election authority, the whole county had a 57% turnout for this election. The U.S. saw increased voter participation in 2018, 2020 and 2022, according to Pew Research Center.
Early voting was unusually popular in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and St. Clair County saw 53% of voters cast a ballot before Election Day that year, clerk Thomas Holbrook said in a recent interview with the News-Democrat.
About 43% of St. Clair County voters participated early or by mail this election, falling in line with Holbrook’s expectations.
Unofficial winners in Tuesday’s races include U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, St. Clair County Board chair Mark Kern, Randolph County circuit clerk Julie Jany-Carnahan and more. All results are unofficial until certified by election officials.
Here’s what to know about voter turnout in previous elections and whether the majority of St. Clair County voters tend to vote for Republican or Democratic candidates for federal offices.
Voter turnout and results are tabulated separately for East St. Louis and the rest of St. Clair County since East St. Louis has its own election commission. Unless otherwise noted, these results are from St. Clair County’s election authority and do not include East St. Louis results.
2024 General presidential election
- Nov. 5, 2024: 59% turnout with 167,565 registered voters in St. Clair County
- Federal race results: 48% voted for Vice President Kamala Harris (48,048 votes), 48% voted for Trump (47,698 votes), 1,890 residents voted for Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and 793 residents voted for write-in candidates.
2022 General midterm election
Nov. 8, 2022: 166,065 registered voters in St. Clair County
51% of registered voters in the county voted, while 36% of voters in East St. Louis’ Election Commission area voted.
Federal race results: 50% voted for U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, 47% voted for Kathy Salvi, the chair of Illinois Republican Party, 2% voted for Libertarian Party candidate Bill Redpath.
2020 General presidential election
Nov. 3, 2020: 68% of St. Clair County’s 177,097 registered voters participated.
Federal race results: 50% voted for President Joe Biden, 47% voted for Trump.
2018 General midterm election
Nov. 6, 2018: 53% of St. Clair County’s 174,585 registered voters voted.
There were no federal races on St. Clair County ballots this election. For gubernatorial race results, 50% voted for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, 44% voted for former Gov. Bruce Rauner, 2% voted for Libertarian Party candidate Grayson Kash Jackson and 4% voted for Conservative Party candidate William “Sam” McCann.
2016 General presidential election
Nov. 8, 2016: 66% of the county’s 184,932 registered voters voted.
About 49% voted for Hillary Clinton, about 44% voted for Trump, 3% voted for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and 1% voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Some write-in candidates received votes, as well.
2014 General midterm election
Nov. 4, 2014: 77,710 ballots, including 301 federal-only ballots, were cast. The county had 174,340 registered voters.
About 45% voted for James D. “Jim” Oberweis for U.S. senator, 50% voted for Sen. Dick Durbin and about 4% voted for Libertarian Party candidate Sharon Hansen.
2012 General presidential election
Nov. 6, 2012: 121,314 ballots, including 1,245 federal-only ballots, were cast among 188,420 registered voters.
About 41% voted for U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, roughly 56% voted for former President Barack Obama, 1% voted for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and less than 1% voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
Do you have a question about elections in Illinois for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Metro-east Matters form below.
