1996 Illinois elections


Elections were held in Illinois on November 5, 1996.
Primaries were held March 19, 1996.

Election information

Turnout

For the primaries, turnout was 29.46%, with 1,804,626 ballots cast.
For the general election, turnout was 66.30%, with 4,418,270 ballots cast.

Straight-ticket voting

Illinois had a straight-ticket voting option in 1996. This would be the last Illinois election with straight-ticket voting, as it would be abolished in Illinois in 1997.
PartyNumber of
straight-ticket
votes
Democratic946,889
Republican744,122
Harold Washington524
Libertarian3,757
Reform14,374
U.S. Taxpayers'474

Federal elections

Presidential election

Illinois voted for the Democratic Party ticket of Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

U.S. Senate

Democrat Dick Durbin was elected to succeed outgoing Democratic Senator Paul Simon.

U.S. House

All 20 of Illinois’ seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1996.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties flipped one seat held by the other party, leaving the party the composition of Illinois' House delegation 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans.

State elections

State Senate

Some of the seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1996. Republicans retained control of the Illinois Senate, which they had held since 1993, having secured a majority from the 1992 election.

State House of Representatives

All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1996. Democrats flipped control of the Illinois House of Representatives, which had been held by Republicans since 1995 after they had won a majority in the 1994 election.

Judicial elections

Judicial elections were held.

Local elections

Local elections were held. These included county elections.