How Politically Engaged Is Illinois: Rankings

ILLINOIS — The Nov. 6 midterm election is just days away, and it's important to vote and make sure your voice is heard. But nationwide, voter turnout is often lackluster. "Among developed nations, the U.S. is rank 26 of 32 when it comes to voter turnout," according to consumer finance site WalletHub.

Presidential elections typically get higher voter turnout than midterms. In the last presidential election year, 2016, a record 137.5 million people voted, or around 61.4 percent of the voting-age population. In 2014, just 36.4 eligible voters cast ballots.

So how does Illinois compare when it comes to voter turnout and political engagement?

"With Election Day close at hand, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on ten key indicators of political engagement," the site said. "They range from 'percentage of registered voters in the 2016 presidential election' to ''total political contributions per adult population.'"

Out of the 50 states, and D.C., Illinois ranked No. 18 on WalletHub's list.

There's some evidence that the 2018 midterms could have a higher voter turnout than past Illinois midterms. The Illinois Board of Elections said Wednesday that early voting totals are already higher than the 2014 midterms and could equal the 1.013 million early votes cast in 2016, a presidential election year.

Everything To Know About The Illinois 2018 Midterm Elections

As of late Wednesday afternoon, nearly 840,000 votes had been cast across the state, with five days of early voting remaining. The early vote count surpasses the 791,000 total early votes cast in the 2014 election. In suburban Cook County, early voting had already surpassed 2014 totals.

Read the full WalletHub rankings and methodology here.

The polls open at 6 a.m. Tuesday in Illinois and close at 7 p.m.

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