Elections were held for Clerk of the Circuit Court, Recorder of Deeds, State's Attorney, three seats on the Water Reclamation District Board, and judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County.
1996 was a presidential election year in the United States. The primaries and general elections for Cook County races coincided with those for federal races (President, House, and Senate) and those for state elections.
Voter turnout[]
Primary election[]
Turnout in the primaries was 30.39%, with 776,069 ballots cast.[3] Chicago saw 35.02% turnout and suburban Cook County saw 25.46% turnout.[4][5]
The general election saw turnout of 64.37%, with 1,774,961 ballots cast.[4] Chicago saw 63.17% turnout (with 902,514 ballots cast), and suburban Cook County saw 65.66% turnout (with 872,447 ballots cast).[1][4][5]
Straight-ticket voting[]
Ballots had a straight-ticket voting option in 1996.[1] This would be the last Cook County election with straight-ticket voting, as it would be abolished in Illinois in 1997.[6]
Cook County State’s Attorney Harold Washington Party primary[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Harold Washington
Lawrence C. Redman, Jr.
3,475
100
Total votes
3,475
100
General election[]
Few had seen Devine as having much prospect of unseating O'Malley, a popular incumbent who was regarded as a rising political star. Devine's strong victory over O'Malley was regarded as a very surprising upset.[7]
Devine was regarded as having ridden the coattails of a Democratic wave in Illinois which saw incumbent president Bill Clinton and his vice president Al Gore carry the state by nearly twenty-points in the presidential election and Illinois also elect Dick Durbin in its U.S. Senate election.[7]
Even Devine himself expressed surprise at just how large his margin-of-victory was over O'Malley.[7]
1996 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election
← 1994
November 5, 1996
1998 →
3 of 9 seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
First party
Second party
Party
Democratic
Republican
In the 1996 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago election, three of the nine seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board were up for election in an at-large election.[1] All three Democratic nominees won election.[1]
Judicial elections[]
Pasrtisan elections were held for judgeships on the Circuit Court of Cook County due to vacancies.[1]Retention elections were also held for the Circuit Court.[1]
Partisan elections were also held for subcircuit courts judgeships due to vacancies.[1] Retention elections were held for other judgeships.[1]
Other elections[]
Coinciding with the primaries, elections were held to elect both the Democratic, Republican, and Harold Washington Party committeemen for the wards of Chicago.[2]
^ abcFegelman, Andrew Fegelman; Ryan, Nancy (6 November 1996). "O'MALLEY SHOCKED BY DEVINE". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 October 2020.