Kane County Clerk certifies March 19 election results; thanks voters and election workers
Kane County Clerk John A. Cunningham has certified the official canvass, or election results, from the March 19 General Primary Election. The official results are posted on the County Clerk’s website at clerk.kanecountyil.gov.
Other reports are available at clerk.kanecountyil.gov/Elections, including historical election results. Per state law, the official canvass could not be certified for at least 14 days following the election to allow for verification of provisional votes and receipt of any vote by mail ballot postmarked on or before Election Day.
Clerk Cunningham thanked Kane County voters, staff, election workers, and poll watchers for their roles in the first election with the upgraded voting machines.
Cunningham said, “I want to thank everyone who participated in this election. Overall, the election ran smoothly thanks to the efforts of everyone involved. We received positive feedback about the voting equipment from voters and election judges. I understand that we will have a learning curve and that human errors will occur anytime human beings do something for the first time. I appreciate the patience of the voters during these first couple of elections as they learn how to vote on the equipment.”
Overall turnout in the March 19 primary was 15.3% of registered voters. This indicates the number of voters who chose a Democratic, Republican or nonpartisan (referendum only) ballot.
Only certain areas of Kane County had a referendum question on the ballot, meaning that nonpartisan or independent voters, who make up a large percentage of Kane County voters, had no referendum questions on their ballot.
Primary election turnout is generally higher when the presidential nomination process is still ongoing, but both parties had selected a presumptive nominee by this time.
In March 2016 when both parties had open contests for president, 41.3% voters participated in the primary election; 25.2% voted in March 2020 when one of the parties had an active contest.
One particular highlight of the recent election is the number of vote by mail ballots cast; 10,391 votes were cast by mail in this election, more than double the 5,154 vote by mail ballots cast in the June 2022 primary.
“We couldn’t have had such a successful election without the hard work of our election judges and staff. Our election judges are such an important part of the process, and we greatly appreciate those election judges who worked during early voting and Election Day, as well as those who verified signatures and processed a record number of vote by mail ballots,” Cunningham said. “I’m also proud of my employees who integrated and tested the new voting equipment, provided demonstrations of the new equipment to the public, trained hundreds of election judges, conducted early voting at 25 sites, prepared 293 precincts for Election Day, and so much more in a very short time.”
The Clerk’s Office continues to strive to be the most transparent election authority in Illinois. Clerk Cunningham has developed innovative ways to serve the public, including expanding early voting, establishing a call center to resolve Election Day issues, developing a Voter Outreach Program to increase voter registration and early voting, and improving technology.