Illinois voters decide Senate, governor and state races Tuesday

Most counties to release early and absentee results when counting starts

Illinois voters will elect a U.S. senator, governor, U.S. House members and state and county officeholders in Tuesday’s midterm election, with polls closing at 7 p.m. local time, or 8 p.m. Eastern, according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press said it will provide vote results and declare winners in races for U.S. Senate, governor, U.S. House, attorney general, secretary of state, state Senate, state House, comptroller, state treasurer, County Board, county clerk, county assessor, county treasurer, county sheriff and water reclamation district commissioner. The AP Decision Team monitors data points as the votes are tallied.

The AP expects most Illinois counties to release at least some early and absentee vote results at the start of the night, and it expects about half of counties to release at least some results from Election Day in-person voting when counting begins.

About 4.1 million votes were cast in the 2022 race for U.S. Senate in Illinois, the AP said. About 39% of those ballots were cast early or by absentee ballot, and the AP’s advance vote tracker carries the latest advance vote totals for the state.

The 2024 general election offers a benchmark for the pace of counting. The first results began arriving at 8:14 p.m. ET on Nov. 5, 14 minutes after polls closed, according to the AP. The state reached 50% of votes reporting at 9:30 p.m. ET and 90% of votes reporting at 12:45 a.m. ET on Nov. 6.

The AP does not make projections. It said it will declare a winner “only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap.”

If a race has not been called, the AP said it will continue to cover newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory, and will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Illinois has no automatic recount law. Candidates who receive at least 95% of the winning candidate’s vote may request and pay for a limited recount, but the recount results are nonbinding and will not directly change the outcome of the election, according to the AP.

The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.