1942 Illinois elections

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1942.[1]

1942 Illinois elections

← 1940 November 3, 1942 1944 →

Primaries were held April 14, 1942.[1]

Election information edit

1942 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Turnout edit

In the primary election 1,963,298 ballots were cast (1,026,644 Democratic and 936,654 Republican).[1]

In the general election 3,049,312 ballots were cast.[1]

Federal elections edit

United States Senate edit

Incumbent Republican Charles W. Brooks was reelected.

United States House edit

Illinois had redistricted before this election, and had lost one seat due to reapportionment following the 1950 United States Census. All of Illinois' remaining 26 seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1942.

Before the election Republicans held 16 seats and Democrats held 11 seats from Illinois. In 1942, Republicans won 19 seats and Democrats won 7 seats.

State elections edit

Treasurer edit

1942 Illinois State Treasurer election
 
← 1940 November 3, 1942 1944 →
     
Nominee William G. Stratton W. D. Forsyth
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,553,944 1,300,091
Percentage 54.25% 45.39%

Treasurer before election

Warren Wright
Republican

Elected Treasurer

William G. Stratton
Republican

Incumbent first-term Treasurer, Republican Warren Wright, did not seek reelection, instead opting to run for United States Senate. Republican William G. Stratton was elected to succeed him.

Democratic primary edit

W. D. Forsyth defeated former Illinois Treasurer and Auditor of Public Accounts Edward J. Barrett and two other candidates.

Treasurer Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic W. D. Forsyth 427,688 48.98
Democratic Edward J. Barrett 332,011 38.02
Democratic Edward J. Callahan 63,832 7.31
Democratic John H. Condon 49,711 5.69
Total votes 873,242 100

Republican primary edit

Incumbent congressman William G. Stratton won the Republican nomination.

Treasurer Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William G. Stratton 625,445 79.27
Republican Harold T. Halfpenny 100,637 12.75
Republican Charles P. MacAuley 62,957 7.98
Total votes 789,039 100

General election edit

Treasurer election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William G. Stratton 1,553,944 54.25
Democratic W. D. Forsyth 1,300,091 45.39
Prohibition William G. Goodman 10,537 0.37
Total votes 2,864,572 100

Superintendent of Public Instruction edit

1942 Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction election
 
← 1938 November 3, 1942 1946 →
 
Nominee Vernon L. Nickell John A. Wieland
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,497,550 1,333,679
Percentage 52.71% 46.94%

Superintendent before election

John A. Wieland
Democratic

Elected Superintendent

Vernon L. Nickell
Republican

Incumbent second-term Superintendent of Public Instruction John A. Wieland, a Democrat, lost reelection, being unseated by Republican Vernon L. Nickell was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary edit

Superintendent of Public Instruction Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John A. Wieland (incumbent) 777,534 100
Write-in Others 19 0.00
Total votes 777,553 100

Republican primary edit

Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vernon L. Nickell 348,379 48.56
Republican Wiley B. Garvin 151,007 21.05
Republican Michael I. Cleary 114,804 16.00
Republican W. C. Handlin 103,276 14.40
Write-in Others 1 0.00
Total votes 717,467 100

General election edit

Superintendent of Public Instruction election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vernon L. Nickell 1,497,550 52.71
Democratic John A. Wieland (incumbent) 1,333,679 46.94
Prohibition Clay Freeman Gaumer 9,944 0.35
Total votes 2,841,173 100

State Senate edit

Seats in the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1942. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives edit

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1942. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois edit

1942 Trustees of University of Illinois election
← 1940 November 3, 1942 1944 →

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 4 5
Seats after 6 3
Seat change   2   2
Popular vote 4,492,540 3,859,990 ½
Percentage 53.57% 46.03%
Swing   3.13%[A]   3.24%[B]
Seats up 1 2
Races won 3 0

[1][2][3]

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois. All three Republican nominees won. With their net increase of two seats in this election, Republicans captured a majority of seats on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Incumbent Republican Chester R. Davis (elected in a special election two years prior) was reelected.[1][2] New Republican members Martin G. Luken and Frank H. McKelvey were also elected.[1][2]

Incumbent Democrats Homer M. Adams and James M. Cleary were not renominated.[2]

Kenney E. Williamson, one of the Democratic Party nominees, had briefly served before, having been appointed in 1940.[2]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election[1][2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Chester R. Davis (incumbent) 1,515,787 18.08
Republican Frank H. McKelvey 1,500,721½ 17.90
Republican Martin G. Luken 1,476,031½ 17.60
Democratic T. V. Smith 1,322,287½ 15.77
Democratic Walter Williams 1,272,182½ 15.17
Democratic Kenney E. Williamson 1,265,520½ 15.09
Prohibition Mildred E. Young 11,542 0.14
Prohibition Alonzo L. Parrott 10,927½ 0.13
Prohibition Minnie Broom Koss 10,563 0.13
Write-in Others 2 0.00
Total votes 8,385,565 100

Judicial elections edit

Supreme Court edit

On June 1, 1942, several districts of the Supreme Court of Illinois had elections.[1]

1st district edit

Republican Charles H. Thompson unseated Democratic incumbent Paul Farthing.

1st district Supreme Court of Illinois election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Charles H. Thompson 55,832 50.99
Democratic Paul Farthing (incumbent) 53,667 49.01
Total votes 109,499 100
2nd district edit

Republican incumbent June C. Smith with reelected.

2nd district Supreme Court of Illinois election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican June C. Smith 48,380 57.47
Democratic D.H. Mudge 35,811 42.54
Total votes 84,191 100
3rd district edit

Republican incumbent Walter T. Gunn was reelected, running unopposed.

3rd district Supreme Court of Illinois election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Charles H. Thompson 14,208 98.67
Others Write-in 192 1.33
Total votes 14,400 100
6th district edit

Incumbent Democrat Elwyn Riley Shaw was unseated by Republican William J. Fulton.

6th district Supreme Court of Illinois election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William J. Fulton 35,015 74.51
Democratic Elwyn R. Shaw (incumbent) 11,976 25.49
Others Write-in 1 0.00
Total votes 46,992 100
7th district edit

Incumbent Democrat Francis S. Wilson was reelected, running unopposed.

7th district Supreme Court of Illinois election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Francis S. Wilson (incumbent) 254,707 99.78
Others Write-in 552 0.22
Total votes 255,259 100

Lower courts edit

Election were held on November 3, 1942 to fill two vacancies on the 16th Judicial Circuit and one vacancy on the 17th Judicial Circuit.

An election was held November 3, 1942 to fill two vacancies on the Superior Court of Cook County.[1]

Ballot measure edit

One measure was put before voters in 1942.

Illinois Revenue Amendment edit

The Illinois Revenue Amendment, a proposed amendment to Section 1 of Article IX of the Constitution, failed to meet the threshold for approval.[1][4]

If approved, this amendment would have enabled the legislature to exempt from certain taxes businesses that sold food for human consumption, allowing the legislature to define the word "food".[4]

In order to be approved, legislatively referred constitutional amendments required approval equal to a majority of voters voting in the entire general election.[4][5]

Illinois Revenue Amendment[1][4]
Option Votes % of all ballots
cast
Yes 979,892 32.14
No 346,232 11.35
Total votes 1,326,124 43.49

Local elections edit

Local elections were held.

Notes edit

^A This figure (3.13%) represents the increase from the share of both the result of the 1940 regular election and the combined vote of the 1940 regular and special elections (Republicans won 50.44% of both these election totals in 1940).
^B This figure (3.24) represents the decrease from the share of the combined vote of the 1940 regular and special elections. The change from the result of the 1940 regular election alone would be 3.13%.

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 "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.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  3. ^ "OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 5, 1940 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1939–1940 PRIMARY ELECTION General Primary, APRIL 9, 1940" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "Illinois Revenue Amendment (1942)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2