10 graphics showing voter turnout in Chicago’s mayoral runoff election

Turnout was moderate in Chicago’s runoff election, with nearly 40% of all registered voters casting ballots for mayor and 14 select aldermanic seats. This, however, was in large part due to early voting, which has continued to trend higher. Aided by the threat of severe weather on Election Day, nearly 57% of voters deciding to skip day-of voting at the polls and instead opt to vote by mail or at early voting sites.

Here’s an in-depth look at voter turnout data from the Chicago Board of Elections, including turnout compared to past mayoral runoffs, what wards showed up at the highest rates and what age groups turned out the vote.

Citywide turnout

In all, 38.7% of registered voters in Chicago casting ballots in the runoff election.

Though voter turnout was considered moderate, it was still higher than usual. Turnout for the April 4 election was about 5% higher than the average municipal election, at least as far back as Chicago Board of Elections records show. In fact, citywide turnout was higher than it has been in all but two municipal elections since the turn of the century.

Hover over the columns to see what percent of eligible registered voters turned out for each election.

When zeroing in on mayoral runoff races, things look slightly different.

There have only been three mayoral runoffs in Chicago’s history — and all took place during the last three municipal election cycles.

Turnout in this year’s runoff was just slightly lower than in 2015′s contest between then-incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel and then-Cook County Commissioner Jesús “Chuy” García, but it was about 5% higher than 2019, when voters overwhelmingly chose Lori Lightfoot over Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

In 2015, there was a 7% increase in turnout from the general election to the runoff. Conversely, in 2019, there was a slight decrease in the number of voters who turned out for the runoff.

This year, turnout in the two election rounds was about the same, with about 3% more voters casting ballots in the runoff, according to results.

Hover over the columns to see what percent of registered voters turned out for each election.

Turnout by ward

Voter turnout was generally higher on the North Side and in the lakefront wards — some of which cast ballots for alderman in addition to mayor.

Turnout, however, was highest in the 19th Ward, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Beverly, Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood, where more than 62% of those eligible voted. The ward with the lowest turnout, at around 20%, was the 16th Ward, covering parts of Englewood, Chicago Lawn and New City.

Hover over each ward to see the corresponding turnout rate.

Overall, in the runoff voter turnout across the city’s 50 wards looked much the same as it did in February’s general election, with a few notable exceptions.

For example, the 32nd Ward, which includes parts of Bucktown, North Center, Lakeview and Lincoln Park, saw the greatest percent change in turnout, with close to a 20% increase from February.

Meanwhile, the 14th Ward, covering parts of Gage Park, Archer Heights, Garfield Ridge and Chicago Lawn, saw the greatest decrease in turnout, dropping almost 9%.

Notably, the four wards with the greatest decreases (the 12th, 14th, 15th and 22nd) turned out for returning mayoral candidate and now-U.S. Rep. García in the general election. So while García may have been able to mobilize some voters in certain neighborhoods in February, when he failed to make the runoff, some of those voters in those wards didn’t show up in April.

Hover over each ward to compare turnout rates in February’s general election with April’s runoff election.

Turnout by age

Turnout was lowest among the youngest and oldest voters. Other than that, it was fairly evenly split across age groups.

Voters between the ages of 55 and 64 cast the most ballots in the runoff election, accounting for about 18% of the total vote share. They were followed closely by those aged 35 to 44 and 25 to 34, with both groups comprising close to 17% of the vote.

Turnout was lowest in the youngest demographic of voters aged 18 to 24. That age group cast just under 25,000 ballots and accounted for about 4% of all votes.

Hover over each column to see the total number of ballots cast by each age group.

Though the 55 to 64 age group accounted for the most votes in the runoff, the 65-74 demographic voted at a rate higher than any other.

Those 65 to 74 made their voices heard, with 55% of registered voters in their age group casting ballots either by mail or at the polls.

Turnout was lowest among Generation Z, with only 22% of registered voters aged 18 to 24 opting to participate in the municipal runoff election.

There was a consistent trend in the percent change in turnout by age group from February, with all but one demographic seeing an increase in turnout. Across the board, increases in turnout were higher with younger voters and smaller among older voters.

The youngest voters aged 18 to 24 saw the greatest percent change in votes cast from February, with a 35% increase in turnout.

Meanwhile, voters 75 and older saw a drop-off, with a fraction less voters in that age group casting ballots in the April runoff.

Hover over each column to see the percent change in turnout for each age group.

Turnout by vote type

A majority of Chicagoans decided to vote early — either by mail or in person — in the runoff election. Early voting smashed city records, with 56.6% of voters casting ballots prior to Election Day.

Still, out of the three ways to vote in Chicago, most people chose to cast their ballots the traditional way: in person on Election Day.

In-person voting on Election Day accounted for approximately 43% of all ballots, followed by in-person early voting at 30% and mail-in ballots at 26%.