Vice President Kamala Harris secured a decisive victory in Illinois during the 2024 presidential election, winning the state by nearly 11 percentage points, according to certified results from the Illinois State Board of Elections. However, the election was marked by a decline in voter turnout compared to recent presidential contests.
The board certified the results on Monday, finalizing vote totals for statewide and legislative races and highlighting shifts in voter participation. Approximately 5.7 million voters cast ballots in Illinois, representing 70.42% of the state’s 8.1 million registered voters. This was a decline from the 72.92% turnout in 2020, which marked the highest participation for a presidential election in Illinois since 1992.
The 2024 turnout ranked as the fourth lowest in Illinois over the past 40 years. While slightly below the turnout during Donald Trump’s first victory in 2016, it surpassed the participation rate during Barack Obama’s reelection in 2012. In Chicago, officials reported the second-lowest voter turnout for a presidential election in 80 years.
This drop in November turnout mirrored trends from the March primary, where participation was also low. Both major parties held uncontested presidential primaries in Illinois after challengers had withdrawn by the time voting reached the state.
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