Governor
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1968 Illinois gubernatorial election|
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Turnout | 79.39%[1] |
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County Results
Ogilvie: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80%
Shapiro: 40–50% 50–60% |
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Incumbent Democratic Governor Samuel H. Shapiro, lost reelection to Republican Richard B. Ogilvie.
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Lieutenant governor
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1968 Illinois lieutenant gubernatorial election|
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Turnout | 76.96%[1] |
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Democrat Paul Simon was elected to serve as lieutenant governor.
This was the only time in Illinois history that the state had the elected a governor and a lieutenant governor from different political parties (there were, however, instances in Illinois where an appointed lieutenant governor had been of a different political party than the governor).
Due to changes implemented by the passage of the 1970 Constitution of Illinois, in all subsequent elections, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates have been jointly elected on a ticket. Therefore, this was the last Illinois election held for the sole purpose of electing a lieutenant governor.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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General election
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Attorney general
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1968 Illinois Attorney General election|
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Turnout | 79.79%[1] |
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Incumbent attorney general William G. Clark, a Democrat, did not seek a third term. Republican William J. Scott was elected to succeed him.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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General election
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Secretary of State
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1968 Illinois Secretary of State election|
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Turnout | 78.81%[1] |
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Incumbent Secretary of State Paul Powell, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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General election
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Auditor of Public Accounts
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1968 Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts election|
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Turnout | 76.54%[1] |
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Incumbent Auditor of Public Accounts Michael Howlett, a Democrat, was reelected to a third term.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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General election
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Clerk of the Supreme Court
Quick Facts Turnout, Nominee ...
1968 Clerk of the Supreme Court election|
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Turnout | 76.46%[1] |
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Nominee |
Justin Taft |
Fannie G. Jones |
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Party |
Republican |
Democratic |
Popular vote |
2,286,086 |
2,032,768 |
Percentage |
52.68% |
46.84% |
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Clerk before election
Cleli Woods
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Elected Clerk
Justin Taft
Republican |
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The Clerk of the Supreme Court was Cleli Woods, who took office after the death in office of Fae Searcy earlier in 1968.
The 1970 Constitution of Illinois made it so that the office would become an appointive office by 1975, thus rendering the 1968 election the last instance in which an election was held for this office.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
Incumbent Clerk of the Supreme Court Fae Searcy died in office on March 25, 1968. However, she had already filed to be on the ballot before her death.[4] Instead of being listed by her own name, Fae Searcy opted to be listed on the ballot as "Ms. Earle Benjamin Searcy".[1][2] Searcy remained on the ballot, and received 32% of the vote, despite being dead. However, Justin Taft outperformed her, with 45.01% of the vote, winning the nomination.
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General election
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State Senate
Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1968. Republicans retained control of the chamber.
Trustees of University of Illinois
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1968 Trustees of University of Illinois election|
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An election using cumulative voting was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois system.
The election saw the reelection of incumbent third-term Republican Timothy W. Swain and incumbent second-term Republican member Earl M. Hughes and the election of new Republican member Russell W. "Ruck" Steger.[1][5]
Incumbent Democrat Kenney E. Williamson (appointed in 1967 after the death in office of Wayne A. Johnston) lost reelection.[1][5]
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Ballot measures
Three ballot measures were up for election in 1968, a legislatively referred state statute, a bond measure, and a call for a constitutional convention.[1]
In order to be approved, legislatively referred state statues required the support of a majority of those voting on the statute.[1] Bond measures needed a vote equal to majority of the votes cast for whichever chamber of the Illinois General Assembly had the highest cumulative vote count.[1] A call for a constitutional convention required votes equal to a majority of the all ballots cast in the general election.[1]
Illinois Banking Act
Illinois Banking Act was approved by voters as a legislatively referred state statue.[1] It enabled Illinois state banks to have foreign branches.[6]
More information Candidate, Votes ...
Illinois Banking Act[1][6]
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
Yes |
1,776,492 |
61.95 |
No |
1,091,116 |
38.05 |
Total votes |
2,867,608 |
100 |
Voter turnout |
50.52% |
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Illinois Natural Resources Development Bond Act
Illinois Natural Resources Development Bond Act, a legislatively referred bond question, failed to pass.[1][7] It proposed a $1 billion bond act for the development of natural resources.[7]
Bond measures needed a vote equal to majority of the votes cast for whichever chamber of the Illinois General Assembly had the highest cumulative vote count.[1] In this election, the highest turnout for a chamber's elections was 4,268,956, so the needed vote total for the measure to have pass would have been 2,134,479.[1]
More information Illinois Natural Resources Development Bond Act, Option ...
Illinois Natural Resources Development Bond Act[1][7] |
Option |
Votes |
% of highest legislative vote cast |
Yes |
1,656,600 |
38.81 |
No |
1,216,814 |
28.50 |
Total votes |
2,873,414 |
67.31 |
Voter turnout |
50.62% |
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Proposed call for a Constitutional Convention
In 1968, voters were presented with a referendum on whether or not to call a constitutional convention.[8][9] This was the first such vote held in the State of Illinois since 1934.[9] The chief sponsor of the legislation which created this ballot measure was Senate Republican leader W. Russell Arrington.[10] Democratic Governor Otto Kerner Jr. was supportive of holding a constitutional convention.[10]
The call for the constitutional required the votes of an equal majority of all ballots cast in the 1968 general elections.[1]
A constitutional convention was subsequently held, and the resulting Constitution of Illinois was approved by Illinois voters in a 1970 special election.[9]
More information Proposed call for a Constitutional Convention, Option ...
Proposed call for a Constitutional Convention[1][11] |
Option |
Votes |
% of all ballots cast |
Yes |
2,979,972 |
63.33 |
No |
1,135,440 |
24.13 |
Total votes |
4,115,412 |
87.45 |
Voter turnout |
72.50% |
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