Illinois Voting Records online consist of voter registration lists. Indexed collections will be the easiest to search; image-only collections will contain the most information.
In the United States voting rights have always come with limitations. In the 1700s and early 1800s, voting rights were restricted primarily to white men who owned property and some states restricted voting rights even further.
During the 1800s voting rights restrictions were gradually reduced and voters didn’t need to own property and, after 1870, race was not a qualification to vote but some states still restricted voting through poll taxes (a tax paid to vote which affected the less affluent), literacy tests, all-white primaries, and language requirements.
The 1900s saw the greatest expansion of voting rights including:
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rights were extended to women (1920)
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the Voting Rights Acts to prevent additional prohibitive voting laws (1965)
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poll taxes were banned in the U.S. by the Supreme Court (1966)
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the right to vote for anyone 18 years old or older (1971)
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protection for language minorities (1975)
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protection for people with disabilities (1982)
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and simplified voter registration (1993).
Voting records may include:
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name
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physical description of person
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age
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gender
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registration date
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dates voted
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residence
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marital status
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property ownership
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occupation
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place of birth
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citizenship status, if naturalized, date, court
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KEY to collections
- FS=FamilySearch FREE but login with your free account to access
- Anc$=Ancestry – fee site
- MH=MyHeritage – fee site
- AG – AccessGenealogy
- GTHG – Genealogy Trails History Group
- IA – Internet Archive
- RW – RootsWeb
Illinois Voting Records online
Illinois – Illinois election returns, 1818-1848
Bureau County – Directories – The Voters and Tax-payers of Bureau County, Illinois : Containing, Also, a Biographical Directory of Its Tax-payers and Voters; a History of the County and State; Map of the County; a Business Directory; an Abstract of Every-day Laws; Officers of Societies, Lodges, Etc., Etc, at FS
Bureau County – Directories – The Voters and Tax-payers of Bureau County, Illinois : Containing, Also, a Biographical Directory of Its Tax-payers and Voters; a History of the County and State; Map of the County; a Business Directory; an Abstract of Every-day Laws; Officers of Societies, Lodges, Etc., Etc, at FS
Chicago – Directories – Lurie Index of People in Chicago in 1937 As Well As All of the Voters’ Registration for Chicago, at FS
Chicago – Voting Registers – Illinois, Chicago, Voter Registers : COLLECTION RECORD, 1888-1892, at FS
Chicago – Voting Registers – Lurie Index of People in Chicago in 1937 As Well As All of the Voters’ Registration for Chicago, at FS
Chicago – Voting Registers – Record and Index of Persons Registered and of Poll Lists of Voters, Northern District of Illinois, City of Chicago, 1888, 1888-1890, 1892; Town of Lake View, 1888; Town of Hyde Park, 1888; Town of Lake, 1888, at FS
Christian County – Christian County Voters 1840
Cook County – Cook County Alien Voters 1864
Cook County – Cook County, Chicago Poll Lists 1833-1835
De Kalb County – De Kalb County Voters and Tax-payers
DeKalb County – Directories – The Voters and Tax-payers of De Kalb County, Illinois : Containing, Also, a Biographical Directory … a History of the County and State, Map of the County, a Business Directory, an Abstract of Every-day Laws, at FS
Edwards County – Voting Registers – Election Records: Tally Lists, Lists of Voters, Voter Affidavits, Etc., 1816-1891, at FS
Hancock County – Voting Registers – Election Record, 1849-1869, at FS
Haw Creek Township – Taxation – Assessor’s List for 1860, for the Township of Haw Creek in the County of Knox, at FS
Henry County – Voting Registers – Portrait and Biographies of the Governors of Illinois and of the U.S. Presidents, at FS
Henry County – Voting Registers – The History of Henry County, Illinois : Its Tax-payers and Voters, Containing Also a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State, Map of the County, a Business Directory … Etc, at FS
Henry County – Voting Registers – The History of Henry County, Illinois : Its Tax-payers and Voters, Containing, Also, a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State, Map of the County, a Business Directory, Etc, at FS
Kendall County – Directories – Biographical Directory of the Voters and Tax-payers of Kendall County, Illinois : Containing Also a Map of the County, an Historical Sketch, a Business Directory, an Abstract of Every-day Laws, Officers of Societies, Lodges, Etc., Etc, at FS
Kendall County – Directories – Biographical Directory of the Voters and Taxpayers of Kendall County, Illinois : Containing Also a Map of the County; an Historical Sketch; a Business Directory, at FS
Lake County – Lake County, Fremont Voter Registration 1868
Macoupin County – Macoupin County Voter List 1829
Monmouth – Voting Registers – Poll Book of Election Held at the Courthouse, Monmouth, Warren Co., Il., 8 Nov. 1864, at FS
Morgan County – Morgan County Voter List 1824
Pope County – Pope County Voter Lists 1888
Randolph County – Randolph County Voter List 1806
Rock Island County – Rock Island County Voters 1842
Morgan County – Voting Registers – Election Records, Ca. 1838-1848, at FS
Randolph County – Voting Registers – Records, 1833-1857, at FS
Sangamon County – Voting Registers – Snow Birds : Poll Books of Sangamo County, 1821-1830, at FS
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