1964 Illinois elections – Wikipedia

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1964 Illinois elections
Turnout 86.67%

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1964.[1]

Primaries were held on April 14, 1964.[1]

Election information[edit]

Turnout[edit]

In the primary, turnout was 41.74% with 2,154,941 ballots cast (1,062,320 Democrat and 1,092,621 Republican).[1][2]

In the general election, turnout was 86.67% with 4,796,641 ballots cast.[1][2]

Federal elections[edit]

United States President[edit]

Illinois voted for the Democratic ticket of Lyndon B. Johnson and Hubert Humphrey.[1]

United States House[edit]

All 24 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1964.

Democrats flipped one seat, leaving the Illinois House delegation to consist of 13 Democrats and 11 Republicans.

State elections[edit]

Governor[edit]

1964 Illinois gubernatorial election
Turnout 84.15%[1][2]
1964 Illinois gubernatorial election results map by county.svg

County Results
Kerner:      50–60%      60–70%
Percy:      50-60%      60-70%

Incumbent Governor Otto Kerner, Jr., a Democrat, won reelection.

Lieutenant governor[edit]

1964 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election
Turnout 82.13%[1][2]

Incumbent lieutenant governor Samuel H. Shapiro, a Democrat, won reelection to a second term.

Democratic primary[edit]

Republican primary[edit]

General election[edit]

Attorney general[edit]

1964 Illinois Attorney General election
Turnout 82.06%[1][2]

Incumbent attorney general William G. Clark, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term.

Democratic primary[edit]

Republican primary[edit]

General election[edit]

Secretary of State[edit]

1964 Illinois Secretary of State election
Turnout 82.14%[1][2]

The incumbent Secretary of State was William H. Chamberlain, a Democrat appointed in 1964. He did not seek reelection. Democrat Paul Powell was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary[edit]

Republican primary[edit]

General election[edit]

Auditor of Public Accounts[edit]

1964 Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts election
Turnout 81.88%[1]

Incumbent Auditor of Public Accounts Michael Howlett, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term, defeating Republican challenger John Kirby.

Democratic primary[edit]

Howlett won the Democratic primary unopposed.

Republican primary[edit]

John Kirby won the Republican primary.

Candidates
  • John William Chapman, former Lieutenant Governor
  • Maurice W. Coburn, 1962 Illinois Treasurer candidate, former administrative assistant to the Governor of Illinois (1956–1960), chairman of the Illinois Veterans League, 44th Ward Precinct Captain, former President of the Young Conservative Club, lawyer[4]
  • Louis “Lou” Haenle
  • James P. Hennessy
  • Gordon E. Kerr, Illinois State Senator
  • John Kirby
  • Walter E. McCarron, Cook County Coroner[5]
  • Sherwin Willens, businessman
Results

General election[edit]

State Senate[edit]

Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1964. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives[edit]

All 177 seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1964. In an unusual twist, the state of Illinois was unable to pass a redistricting map. As a result, as stipulated in the state Constitution all candidates were elected at large on one ballot, which contained 236 names and spread 33 inches long.[6] Both the Democrats and the Republicans nominated 118 candidates. [7] Voters could vote for up to 177 candidates, and a straight-ticket option was also available.[6]

Every Democratic candidate won, flipping the chamber and giving Democrats a super-majority in the state House. Democrats won a total of 118 seats to Republican’s 59 seats.[7]

Trustees of University of Illinois[edit]

1964 Trustees of University of Illinois election

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois.

The election saw the reelection of first term Democratic incumbent Howard Clement, second-term Democratic incumbent Harold Pogue, as well as fellow Democratic incumbent Theodore A. Jones (who had been appointed to fill a vacancy in 1963).[1][8]

Ballot measures[edit]

Two ballot measures were put before voters in 1966, both of them legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

In order to be placed on the ballot, proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendments needed to be approved by two-thirds of each house of the Illinois General Assembly.[9] In order to be approved, they required approval of either two-thirds of those voting on the amendment itself or a majority of all ballots cast in the general elections.[1]

Annual Legislative Sessions Amendment[edit]

The Annual Legislative Sessions Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, was put to a vote. It would have amended Section 9 of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution. It failed to meet either threshold for passage.[1]

Annual Legislative Sessions Amendment[1][2]
Option Votes % of votes
on referendum 		% of all ballots
cast
Yes 2,290,263 63.10 47.75
No 1,339,540 36.90 27.93
Total votes 3,629,803 100 75.67
Voter turnout 65.58%

Continuity of Governmental Operations in Periods of Emergency Amendment[edit]

The Continuity of Governmental Operations in Periods of Emergency Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, was put to a vote. It would have amended Section 35 of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution. It failed to meet either threshold for passage.[1]

Continuity of Governmental Operations in Periods of Emergency Amendment[1][2]
Option Votes % of votes
on referendum 		% of all ballots
cast
Yes 1,808,491 50.62 37.70
No 1,275,871 35.71 26.60
Total votes 3,572,966 100 74.49
Voter turnout 64.56%

Local elections[edit]

Local elections were held.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab “OFFICIAL VOTE of the STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER 3, 1964 JUDICIAL ELECTION, 1963–1964 • PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL, 14, 1964” (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 1 July 2020.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h “OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986” (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 10 April 2020.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Illinois Blue Book 1963-1964. Illinois Secretary of State. pp. 901–902. Retrieved 28 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ “Maurice W. Coburn”. Belvidere Daily Republican. 13 April 1964.
  5. ^ “WALTER MCCARRON, 85, FORMER COUNTY CORONER”. chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 27 September 1985. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b Wehrwein, Austin (October 29, 1964). “BALLOT IN ILLINOIS BIG AS BATH TOWEL”. New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b Hardy, Rick Pearson and Thomas. “RULING REKINDLES VISIONS OF `64 `BEDSHEET` BALLOT”. chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  8. ^ a b “Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees” (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. ^ Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2