Why some voters opted out of Tuesday’s primary
Voter turnout Tuesday was greater than 2022’s midterm primary in suburban Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, but lower than four years ago in Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
That’s according to the latest figures from election officials throughout the suburbs.
Experts say turnout likely was affected by the number of contested races on the ballot as well as the strength of candidates. Voter fatigue could also play a part, some contend.
“Illinois in particular, because of all the local governments, votes a lot,” said Scot Schraufnagel, a political science professor at Northern Illinois University. “We just ask people to vote way, way more than many other countries, upward of 20 times a decade.”
DuPage County is currently reporting the highest turnout level at 24.6%, which could increase when mail-in stragglers are eventually reported. In the 2022 midterm primary, DuPage was the only county with more than 20% turnout among the suburban collar counties.
Kane County had the second highest turnout rate Tuesday with 23.1% of registered voters casting ballots. That’s up from 18.6% in 2022 and even higher than in 2018, when 21.4% cast ballots. Kane is the only suburban county currently with a higher turnout rate than in 2018’s midterm primary, which was the first chance suburban voters could cast a ballot on national and state races following President Donald Trump’s first election.
“I think turnout this November will be driven by the Trump agenda, too,” said Melissa Mouritsen, a political science professor at the College of DuPage. “I think the Republican governor’s race was interesting, but I don’t know that it excited a lot of voters because we’re such a deep blue state.”
Party line voting data isn’t available just yet, but based on totals from statewide races, it’s clear many more Democratic ballots were pulled in the suburbs than Republican.
Crowded fields in congressional races also fueled voter turnout, particularly in suburban Cook County where two incumbents were retiring or seeking higher office. That resulted in 22.2% of suburban Cook County voters casting ballots in Tuesday’s primary. That’s up from 19.6% in 2022, but way down from 2018 when 29% cast ballots, records show.
Lake County had the lowest voter turnout in the suburbs at 17.7% Tuesday. That’s down from 18.4% in 2022.
“This is bad news for democracy,” said Stephen Maynard Caliendo, a professor political science at North Central College in Naperville. “This is not a healthy democracy with these numbers.”
McHenry County is currently reporting 18% voter turnout, down from 19.6% in 2022. In Will County, turnout was 19.1% Tuesday, down slightly from 19.5% in 2022.
It’s not just the percentage of voters that is down in these counties either, but the actual number of voters casting ballots also dropped. There were nearly 10,000 fewer votes cast in Lake County Tuesday than in 2022’s midterm primary. There were about 4,000 fewer in McHenry County and about 1,000 fewer in Will County, records show.
“It’s not surprising, but disappointing,” Schraufnagel said.