CHAMPAIGN – In Champaign County, about 1 in 4 eligible voters turned out for the primary election in March.
Of the 123,994 registered voters in Champaign County, 29,101 cast ballots, for a turnout of 24%, according to data posted on the County Clerk’s website.
This year’s turnout is on par with the two most recent midterm primary elections. In both 2022 and 2018, turnout was 26%.
Voter turnout is often lower for primary elections compared to general elections, and there are several reasons for that, according to Aaron Ammons, Champaign County Clerk and Recorder.
During primary elections, voters choose who will represent their party for the general election, and “there’s a good number of folks who see themselves as independents and they don’t want to be associated directly with the Democratic Party or the Republican Party,” Ammons said.
Ammons said fewer people are paying attention to election in the lead-up to the primaries “because it doesn’t get as much attention through the press and media and things like that.”
One local organization working to increase voter turnout is the League of Women Voters of Champaign County. Ann Prisland is the leader of the LWVCC’s “Voter Ready Team,” which raises awareness about elections and voter registration.
Prisland said she was surprised by the low voter turnout in this year’s primary election, given some of the high-profile races going on.
“We only had one contested race for the county… but I was thinking that other state and federal contested races would have brought out more people,” she said, such as Illinois’ open U.S. Senate seat and the 13th District race for U.S. House of Representatives.
Efforts to increase turnout – especially among student voters
Student voters are one of the key demographics in Champaign County, Ammons said. But this year’s primary election took place during spring break for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Parkland College, which could explain the low turnout among students.
“In this election, we had very little student participation on [the U of I] campus and the other places, at Parkland or the high school students,” Ammons said. “So I think it depends on the race. Certainly in general races like the November races, I think the students are much more involved.”
Ammons said unless students from out of town have specific races they want to get involved with back home, it makes more sense for them to vote in Champaign County “because it’s easier for them to participate where they are.”
Prisland said the LWVCC came up with a creative way to increase voter registration amongst high schoolers by training up student ambassadors.
“Our team works with volunteers who are our high school students who want to register their peers to vote,” Prisland said. “And so it’s the high school students who are going into the local schools.”
Prisland said the organization also works with student political organizations at the U of I and helps out with voter registration at Parkland College.
Ammons said his office works with local civic and social organizations to promote voting.
But one thing that he believes is guaranteed to increase voter turnout is mailing every registered voter a ballot. He said he’d like Illinois to join the eight states that mail ballots to every registered voter.
“No matter who does the study, all the data shows that if the voters are allowed to receive a ballot at home, it increases their participation,” Ammons said. “Whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, older or younger, it doesn’t matter.”
This year, about a third of Champaign County voters cast ballots by mail — up from about a fifth in the most recent midterm primary election in 2022.