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1944 Illinois elections

← 1942 November 7, 1944 1946 →

Elections in Illinois
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v t e

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1944.

Primaries were held April 11, 1944.

Election information

Turnout

In the primaries, 1,428,685 ballots were cast (635,487 Democratic and 793,198 Republican).

In the general election, 4,079,024 ballots were cast.

Federal elections

United States President

Illinois voted for the Democratic ticket of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.

United States Senate

Incumbent Democrat Scott W. Lucas won reelection to a second term.

United States House

All 26 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1944.

Democrats flipped four Republican-held seats, making the composition of Illinois' House delegation 15 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

State elections

Governor

1944 Illinois gubernatorial election

← 1940 November 7, 1944 1948 →

Nominee Dwight H. Green Thomas J. Courtney Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,013,270 1,940,999 Percentage 50.75% 48.93%

County Results Green:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Courtney:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Dwight H. Green Republican Elected Governor Dwight H. Green Republican

Incumbent Governor Dwight H. Green, a Republican, was reelected to a second term.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

Lieutenant governor

1944 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 1940 November 7, 1944 1948 →

Nominee Hugh W. Cross Edward C. Hunter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,950,767 1,919,029 Percentage 50.25% 49.43%

Lieutenant Governor before election Hugh W. Cross Republican Elected Lieutenant Governor Hugh W. Cross Republican

Incumbent lieutenant governor Hugh W. Cross, a Republican, was reelected to a second term.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

Attorney general

1944 Illinois Attorney General election

← 1940 November 7, 1944 1948 →

Nominee George F. Barrett Sveinbjorn Johnson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,959,836 1,906,110 Percentage 50.53% 49.15%

Attorney General before election George F. Barrett Republican Elected Attorney General George F. Barrett Republican

Incumbent attorney general George F. Barrett, a Republican, won reelection to second term.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

Secretary of State

1944 Illinois Secretary of State election

← 1940 November 7, 1944 1948 →

Nominee Edward J. Barrett Arnold P. Benson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,003,057 1,886,876 Percentage 51.33% 48.35%

Secretary of State before election Richard Yates Rowe Republican Elected Secretary of State Edward J. Barrett Democratic

Incumbent third-term Secretary of State Edward J. Hughes, a Democrat, did not seek reelection. Hughes then died before the general election, and in June 1944, Richard Yates Rowe, a Republican, was appointed to fill the rest of his term. In the election, Democrat Edward J. Barrett was elected to permanently succeed them in office.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

Arnold P. Benson, the president pro tempore of the Illinois Senate, won the Republican primary, defeating incumbent Illinois Treasurer and former congressman William Stratton.

General election

Auditor of Public Accounts

1944 Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts election

← 1940 November 7, 1944 1948 →

Nominee Arthur C. Lueder William Vicars Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,951,828 1,910,269 Percentage 50.37% 49.30%

Auditor of Public Accounts before election Arthur C. Lueder Republican Elected Auditor of Public Accounts Arthur C. Lueder Republican

Incumbent Auditor of Public Accounts Arthur C. Lueder, a Republican, was reelected to a second term.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

Treasurer

1944 Illinois State Treasurer election

← 1942 November 7, 1944 1946 →

Nominee Conrad F. Becker Earl W. Merritt Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,933,705 1,918,595 Percentage 50.03% 49.64%

Treasurer before election William G. Stratton Republican Elected Treasurer Conrad F. Becker Republican

Incumbent first-term Treasurer William G. Stratton, a Republican, did not seek reelection, instead opting to run for Secretary of State. Republican Conrad F. Becker was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

Clerk of the Supreme Court

1944 Illinois Clerk of the Supreme Court election

← 1938 November 7, 1944 1950 →

Nominee Earle Benjamin Searcy Casimir Griglik Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,953,537 1,885,321 Percentage 50.72% 48.95%

Clerk before election Edward F. Cullinane Democratic Elected Clerk Earle Benjamin Searcy Republican

Incumbent Clerk of the Supreme Court Edward F. Cullinane, a Democrat appointed to the office in 1940 after the death in office of Adam F. Bloch, did not seek reelection. Republican Earle Benjamin Searcy was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

State Senate

Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1944. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1944. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

1944 Trustees of University of Illinois election

← 1942 November 7, 1944 1946 →
3 out of 9 seats on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees 5 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Seats before 6 3 Seats after 6 3 Seat change Popular vote 5,650,742½ 5,809,521½ Percentage 49.14% 50.52% Swing 4.43% 4.49% Seats up 0 3 Races won 0 3

An election was held for three of the nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois. The election was for six-year terms. All three Democratic nominees won. However, since all three seats up for election were already held by Democrats, the partisan composition of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees remained unchanged, with a 9–3 Republican majority over Democrats.

Democratic incumbent Karl A. Meyer was reelected to a third term. Democratic incumbent Kenny E. Williamson, who had been appointed to fill a vacancy in 1940 was reelected to his first full term. New Democratic member Walter W. McLaughlin was also elected. First-term Democratic incumbent Frank A. Jensen was not nominated for reelection.

Ballot measures

Two ballot measures were put before voters in 1944. One was a legislatively referred state statute and one was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.

In order to be approved, legislatively referred state statues required the support of a majority of those voting on the statute. In order to be approved, legislatively referred constitutional amendments required approval equal to a majority of voters voting in the entire general election.

Illinois County Officer Term Limit Amendment

Illinois County Officer Term Limit Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which would have amended Section 8 of Article X of the Constitution of the 1870 Constitution of Illinois, failed to meet the threshold for approval.

The amendment would have removed a constitutional provision requiring elected county officers to wait for four years after their term expired before they would be eligible to hold that same office again.

Illinois General Banking Law Amendment

The Illinois General Banking Law Amendment, a legislatively referred state statute which amended section 10 of the Illinois General Banking Law, was approved by voters.

Local elections

Local elections were held.

References

1. ^ "OFFICIAL VOTE of the STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, November 7, 1944 PRIMARY ELECTION General Primary, April 11, 1944" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
2. "Rosters of Government Officials" (PDF). State of Illinois. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
3. ^ "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
4. "OFFICIAL VOTE of the STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, November 3, 1942 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1941-1942 PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, April 14, 1942" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
5. Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2
6. ^ "Illinois County Officer Term Limit Amendment (1944)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
7. ^ "Illinois General Banking Law Amendment (1944)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 4, 2020.

• 1944 Illinois elections
• 1944 elections in the United States by state