1980 Illinois elections

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 4, 1980.^[1]

Primaries were held on March 18.^[2]

Election information

Turnout

Turnout in the primary election was 43.50%, with a total of 2,493,518 ballots cast.^[3] 1,321,810 Democratic and 1,171,708 Republican primary ballots were cast.^[2]

Turnout during the general election was 78.14%, with 4,868,623 ballots cast.^[1]^[3]

Federal elections

United States President

Illinois voted for Republican ticket of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.^[1]

This was the fourth consecutive election in which the state had voted for the Republican ticket in a presidential election.

United States Senate

Incumbent Democrat Adlai Stevenson III, did not seek reelection. Democrat Alan J. Dixon was elected to succeed him.

United States House

In a January 22, 1980 special election for Illinois's 10th congressional district, Republican John Porter captured what had previously been a Democratic-held seat.

All of Illinois' 24 congressional seats were up for reelection in November 1980.

In the November election, none of Illinois' seats switched parties, with there remaining 14 Republican and seats 10 Democratic seats in Illinois' House of Representatives delegation.

State elections

State Senate

Some seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1980. Democrats retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1980. Republicans flipped control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois system.

The election saw the reelection first-term incumbent Democratic Nina T. Shepherd and the election of new members, Republicans Galey S. Day and Dean E. Madden.^[1]^[4]

First-term incumbent Democrats Arthur R. Velasquez and Robert J. Lenz lost reelection.^[1]^[4]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election^[1]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dean S. Madden	2,009,945	16.88
	Democratic	Nina T. Shepherd (incumbent)	1,995,637	16.76
	Republican	Mrs. Galey S. Day	1,914,231	16.07
	Democratic	Robert J. Lenz (incumbent)	1,840,099	15.45
	Republican	Lawrence W. Gougler	1,786,141	15.00
	Democratic	Arthur R. Velasquez (incumbent)	1,761,259	14.79
	Citizens	Denise B. Rose	77,123	0.65
	Libertarian	William R. Mitchell	63,282	0.53
	Libertarian	Richard Rasmussen	61,249	0.51
	Libertarian	James D. McCawley	58,994	0.50
	Citizens	John Rossen	56,068	0.47
	Communist	Barbara A. Browne	46,956	0.39
	Citizens	Andy Korsage-Norman	41,808	0.35
	Socialist Workers	Donald J. Hanrahan	31,774	0.27
	Socialist Workers	Susan E. Browne	29,639	0.25
	Workers World	Jill H. Hill	27,704	0.23
	Workers World	Sharon K. Sindelar	26,017	0.22
	Communist	Mark J. Almberg	22,793	0.19
	Communist	Richard W. Rozoff	22,406	0.19
	Socialist Workers	David W. Tucker	18,551	0.16
	Workers World	Willie James Hill	18,029	0.15
	Write-in	Others	47	0.00
Total votes			11,909,752	100

Judicial elections

Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1980.

Ballot measures

Illinois voters voted on a two ballot measures in 1980.^[5] In order to be approved, the measures required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the measure or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.^[5]

The two measures were approved, becoming the first amendments to be successfully made following the passage of the 1970 Constitution of Illinois.^[5]

Size of State House of Representatives Amendment

Voters approved the Size of State House of Representatives Amendment (also known as "Amendment 1", the "Legislative Article", and the "Cutback Amendment"), which was an initiated constitutional amendment that amended Article IV, Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Illinois to reduce the size of the Illinois House of Representatives from 177 to 118 members, eliminated cumulative voting, and replace the use of multi-member districts with single-member districts.^[1]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Size of State House of Representatives Amendment^[1]^[5]^[7]
Option	Votes	% of votes on referendum	% of all ballots cast
Yes	2,112,224	68.70	43.38
No	962,325	31.30	19.77
Total votes	3,074,549	100	63.15
Voter turnout	49.35%

Sale of Tax Delinquent Property Amendment

Voters approved the Sale of Tax Delinquent Property Amendment (also known as the "Revenue Article" and "Article 2"), which was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that amended Article IX, Section 8 of the Constitution of Illinois to reduce the redemption period on the sale of tax delinquent property.^[1]^[5]^[8]^[9]

Sale of Tax Delinquent Property Amendment^[1]^[5]^[8]
Option	Votes	% of votes on referendum	% of all ballots cast
Yes	1,857,985	69.94	38.16
No	798,422	30.06	16.40
Total votes	2,656,407	100	54.56
Voter turnout	42.64%

Local elections

Local elections were held.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1980" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 24, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 18, 1980" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 24, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 10, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b ^c "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Illinois Constitution - Amendments Proposed". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
^ "Cutback Amendment". Illinois Issues. November 1980. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Illinois Size of State House of Representatives Amendment (1980)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Illinois Sale of Tax Delinquent Property Amendment (1980)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
^ "1970 CONSTITUTION HISTORY & HIGHLIGHTS" (PDF). ilsos.gov. Illinois Secretary of State's Office.

[GE-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1980" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 24, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}

[PE-2] "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 18, 1980" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 24, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}

[GE88-3] "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 10, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}

[ui1-4] "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

[ilga1-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Illinois Constitution - Amendments Proposed". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 26, 2020.

[6] "Cutback Amendment". Illinois Issues. November 1980. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2008.

[ISOSHORA-7] "Illinois Size of State House of Representatives Amendment (1980)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.

[ISOTDPA-8] "Illinois Sale of Tax Delinquent Property Amendment (1980)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.

[9] "1970 CONSTITUTION HISTORY & HIGHLIGHTS" (PDF). ilsos.gov. Illinois Secretary of State's Office.

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v t e Elections in Illinois
By year	1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1969 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1998 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Presidential	1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 (Dem primary, Rep primary) 2012 2016 (Dem primary) 2020 (Dem primary)
U.S. Senate	1885 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022
U.S. House	2000 (1st) 2006 2008 2010 (17th) 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Special	2nd congressional, 1995 14th congressional, 2008 5th congressional, 2009 2nd congressional, 2013 18th congressional, 2015 Comptroller, 2016
Gubernatorial	1818 1822 1826 1830 1834 1838 1842 1846 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Lieutenant gubernatorial	1818 1822 1826 1830 1834 1838 1842 1846 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968
Other state executive offices	Attorney General 2018 2022 Secretary of State 2022 Comptroller 2016
State Senate	2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State House	2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
State judicial	1936 1938 1940 1942 1948 1960 1962 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Ballot measures and referendums	State capitol referendum (1834) Cutback Amendment (1980) Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992) Governor Recall Amendment (2010) Public Pension Amendment (2012) Marsy's Law (2014) Right to Vote Amendment (2014) Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016) Fair Tax (2020) Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022)
Chicago mayoral	1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 (Mar) 1844 (Apr) 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1876 (Apr) 1876 (Jul) 1877 1879 1881 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1893 (Apr) 1893 (Dec) 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1911 1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1977 1979 1983 1987 1989 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Chicago City Council	1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Other municipal	1924 Cicero
Cook County	1946 1980 (State's Attorney) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

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