| Election Name: | 1944 Illinois elections |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1915 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1942 Illinois elections |
| Previous Year: | 1942 |
| Next Election: | 1946 Illinois elections |
| Next Year: | 1946 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 7, 1944.[1]
Primaries were held April 11, 1944.[1]
In the primaries, 1,428,685 ballots were cast (635,487 Democratic and 793,198 Republican).[1]
In the general election, 4,079,024 ballots were cast.[1]
See main article: 1944 United States presidential election in Illinois.
See also: 1944 United States presidential election.
Illinois voted for the Democratic ticket of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.
See main article: 1944 United States Senate election in Illinois.
See also: 1944 United States Senate elections.
Incumbent Democrat Scott W. Lucas won reelection to a second term.
See also: 1944 United States House of Representatives elections.
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.
| Election Name: | 1944 Illinois gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1915 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1940 Illinois gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1940 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
| Next Election: | 1948 Illinois gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1948 |
| Nominee1: | Dwight H. Green |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 2,013,270 |
| Percentage1: | 50.75% |
| Nominee2: | Thomas J. Courtney |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,940,999 |
| Percentage2: | 48.93% |
| Map Size: | 150px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Dwight H. Green |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Dwight H. Green |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
Incumbent Governor Dwight H. Green, a Republican, was reelected to a second term.
| Election Name: | 1944 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1915 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1940 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 1940 |
| Next Election: | 1948 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 1948 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
| Nominee1: | Hugh W. Cross |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,950,767 |
| Percentage1: | 50.25% |
| Nominee2: | Edward C. Hunter |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,919,029 |
| Percentage2: | 49.43% |
| Map Size: | 150px |
| Lieutenant Governor | |
| Before Election: | Hugh W. Cross |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Hugh W. Cross |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
Incumbent lieutenant governor Hugh W. Cross, a Republican, was reelected to a second term.
| Election Name: | 1944 Illinois Attorney General election |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1915 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1940 Illinois Attorney General election |
| Previous Year: | 1940 |
| Next Election: | 1948 Illinois Attorney General election |
| Next Year: | 1948 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
| Nominee1: | George F. Barrett |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,959,836 |
| Percentage1: | 50.53% |
| Nominee2: | Sveinbjorn Johnson |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,906,110 |
| Percentage2: | 49.15% |
| Map Size: | 150px |
| Attorney General | |
| Before Election: | George F. Barrett |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | George F. Barrett |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
Incumbent attorney general George F. Barrett, a Republican, won reelection to second term.
| Election Name: | 1944 Illinois Secretary of State election |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1915 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1940 Illinois elections#Secretary of State |
| Previous Year: | 1940 |
| Next Election: | 1948 Illinois elections#Secretary of State |
| Next Year: | 1948 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
| Nominee1: | Edward J. Barrett |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 2,003,057 |
| Percentage1: | 51.33% |
| Nominee2: | Arnold P. Benson |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,886,876 |
| Percentage2: | 48.35% |
| Map Size: | 150px |
| Secretary of State | |
| Before Election: | Richard Yates Rowe Republican |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
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.
Arnold P. Benson, the president pro tempore of the Illinois Senate, won the Republican primary, defeating incumbent Illinois Treasurer and former congressman William Stratton.
| Election Name: | 1944 Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts election |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1915 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1940 Illinois elections#Auditor of Public Accounts |
| Previous Year: | 1940 |
| Next Election: | 1948 Illinois elections#Auditor of Public Accounts |
| Next Year: | 1948 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
| Image1: | Arthur C. Lueder (A).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Arthur C. Lueder |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,951,828 |
| Percentage1: | 50.37% |
| Nominee2: | William Vicars |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,910,269 |
| Percentage2: | 49.30% |
| Auditor of Public Accounts | |
| Before Election: | Arthur C. Lueder |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Arthur C. Lueder |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
Incumbent Auditor of Public Accounts Arthur C. Lueder, a Republican, was reelected to a second term.
| Election Name: | 1944 Illinois State Treasurer election |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1915 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1942 Illinois elections#Treasurer |
| Previous Year: | 1942 |
| Next Election: | 1946 Illinois elections#Treasurer |
| Next Year: | 1946 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
| Nominee1: | Conrad F. Becker |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,933,705 |
| Percentage1: | 50.03% |
| Nominee2: | Earl W. Merritt |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,918,595 |
| Percentage2: | 49.64% |
| Treasurer | |
| Before Election: | William G. Stratton |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Conrad F. Becker |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
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.
| Election Name: | 1944 Illinois Clerk of the Supreme Court election |
| Country: | Illinois |
| Flag Year: | 1915 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1938 Illinois elections#Clerk of the Supreme Court |
| Previous Year: | 1938 |
| Next Election: | 1950 Illinois elections#Clerk of the Supreme Court |
| Next Year: | 1950 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
| Nominee1: | Earle Benjamin Searcy |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,953,537 |
| Percentage1: | 50.72% |
| Nominee2: | Casimir Griglik |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,885,321 |
| Percentage2: | 48.95% |
| Clerk | |
| Before Election: | Edward F. Cullinane |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Earle Benjamin Searcy |
| After Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
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.[1] [2] Republican Earle Benjamin Searcy was elected to succeed him in office.
Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1944. Republicans retained control of the chamber.
Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1944. Republicans retained control of the chamber.
| Election Name: | 1944 Trustees of University of Illinois election |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1942 Illinois elections#Trustees of University of Illinois |
| Previous Year: | 1942 |
| Next Election: | 1946 Illinois elections#Trustees of University of Illinois |
| Next Year: | 1946 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 1944 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| 2Blank: | Races won |
| Seats For Election: | 3 out of 9 seats on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees |
| Majority Seats: | 5 |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Seats Before1: | 6 |
| Seats After1: | 6 |
| Popular Vote1: | 5,650,742½ |
| Percentage1: | 49.14% |
| Swing1: | 4.43% |
| 1Data1: | 0 |
| 2Data1: | 0 |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Seats Before2: | 3 |
| Seats After2: | 3 |
| Popular Vote2: | 5,809,521½ |
| Percentage2: | 50.52% |
| Swing2: | 4.49% |
| 1Data2: | 3 |
| 2Data2: | 3[3] |
An election was held for three of the nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois.[1] 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.[1]
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.[4]
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.[1] [5]
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.[5]
| Illinois County Officer Term Limit Amendment | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Option | Votes | % of all ballots cast | ||||
| text align=center | Yes | text align=center | 898,107 | text align=center | 22.02 | |
| text align=center | No | text align=center | 653,877 | text align=center | 16.03 | |
| text align=center | Total votes | text align=center | 1,551,984 | text align=center | 38.05 |
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.[1] [6]
Local elections were held.