1954 Illinois elections
November 2, 1954
Turnout65.34%

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 2, 1954.[1]

Primaries were held April 13, 1954.[1]

Election information

1954 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Turnout

In the primary election, turnout was 32.06% with 1,695,491 ballots cast (957,042 Democratic and 738,449 Republican).[1][2]

In the general election, turnout was 65.34% with 3,455,173 ballots cast.[1][3]

Federal elections

United States Senate

Democratic Senator Paul Douglas was reelected to a second term.

United States House

All 25 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1954.

Democrats flipped three Republican-held seats, leaving the Illinois House delegation to consist of 13 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

State elections

Treasurer

1954 Illinois State Treasurer election
November 2, 1954
Turnout61.91%[1][3]
 
Nominee Warren Wright David F. Mallett
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,641,272 1,632,331
Percentage 50.14% 49.86%
Treasurer before election

Elmer J. Hoffman
Republican

 Elected Treasurer

Warren Wright
Republican

Incumbent first-term Treasurer, Republican Elmer J. Hoffman, did not seek reelection. Republican Warren Wright, a former one-term holder of the office, was elected to succeed him.

This was the final Illinois Treasurer election to a two-year term, as voters also approved a a constitutional amendment which extended term length to four-years beginning in the following election.

Democratic primary

Treasurer Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David F. Mallett 531,647 100
Write-in Others 2 0.00
Total votes 531,649 100

Republican primary

Former Illinois Treasurer Warren Wright won the Republican primary. He defeated fellow former Illinois Treasurer Conrad F. Becker, as well as Robert J. Branson.

Treasurer Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Warren E. Wright 329,565 42.40
Republican Conrad F. Becker 256,308 32.98
Republican Robert J. Branson 191,417 24.63
Write-in Others 1 0.00
Total votes 777,291 100

General election

Treasurer election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Warren E. Wright 1,641,272 50.14
Democratic David F. Mallett 1,632,331 49.86
Total votes 3,273,603 100

Superintendent of Public Instruction

1954 Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction election
November 2, 1954
Turnout61.81%[1][3]
 
Nominee Vernon L. Nickell Mark A. Peterman
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,653,174 1,615,325
Percentage 50.58% 49.42%
Superintendent before election

Vernon L. Nickell
Republican

 Elected Superintendent

Vernon L. Nickell
Republican

Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Vernon L. Nickell, a Republican, was elected to a fourth term.

Democratic primary

Superintendent of Public Instruction Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark A. Peterman 523,876 100
Total votes 523,876 100

Republican primary

Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vernon L. Nickell (incumbent) 701,257 100
Write-in Others 9 0.00
Total votes 701,266 100

General election

Superintendent of Public Instruction election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vernon L. Nickell (incumbent) 1,653,174 50.58
Democratic Mark A. Peterman 1,615,325 49.42
Write-in Others 12
Total votes 3,268,511 100

State Senate

Seats in the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1954. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1954. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

1954 Trustees of University of Illinois election
November 2, 1954

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

The election saw the reelection of Democrat former member Kenney E. Williamson (who previously had served one full term and a partial term), and first-term Democratic incumbents George Wirt Herrick, Frances Best Watkins.[1][4]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election[1][4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kenney E. Williamson 1,683,790½ 17.45
Democratic George Wirt Herrick (incumbent) 1,672,794½ 17.34
Democratic Frances Best Watkins (incumbent) 1,648,798½ 17.09
Republican Dr. Ralph H. Kunstadter 1,582,397½ 16.40
Republican Vernon L. Heath 1,562,347 16.19
Republican Maurice Gantzert 1,498,812½ 15.53
Total votes 9,648,943 100

Judicial elections

Supreme Court

Fifth Supreme Court Judicial District

A judicial election was held on June 7, 1954, for the Fifth Supreme Court Judicial District. Republican Joseph E. Daily was unopposed.

Fifth Supreme Court Judicial District[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joseph E. Daily (incumbent) 985 99.90
Others Others 1 0.10
Total votes 986 100

Lower courts

On November 2, 1954, a special election was held to fill a vacancy on the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Ballot measures

Three ballot measures were put before voters in 1954. All three were legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

In order to be approved, legislatively referred state statues required the support of a majority of those voting on the statute.[1] In order to be placed on the ballot, proposed legislatively referred constitutional amendments needed to be approved by two-thirds of each house of the Illinois General Assembly.[5] In order to be approved, they required approval of either two-thirds of those voting on the amendment itself or a majority of all ballots cast in the general elections.[1]

Illinois Michigan Canal Amendment

The Illinois Michigan Canal Amendment was approved. It eliminated from the constitution the requirement that the Illinois and Michigan Canal or other canal and or waterway could only be sold or leased with specific approval of a majority of voters participating in a general state election. It also removed from the constitution the provision under which the Illinois deep waterway was both financed and constructed.[6]

Illinois Michigan Canal Amendment[1][3][7]
Option Votes  % of votes

on measure

  % of all ballots
cast
Yes 2,011,134 79.34 58.20
No 523,572 20.66 15.15
Total votes 2,534,706 100 73.97
Voter turnout 47.93%

Legislative Apportionment Amendment

Legislative Apportionment Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which amended Sections 6, 7, and 8 of Article IV of the 1870 Constitution of Illinois was approved by voters.[1] Among other specifications, it directed the Illinois General Assembly to elect one Senator from each of 58 senatorial districts and three representatives from each of 59 representative districts.[6]

In order for constitutional amendments to be passed by voters, they required either two-thirds support among those specifically voting on the measure or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.[8][9]

Legislative Apportionment Amendment[1][3]
Option Votes  % of votes

on measure

  % of all ballots
cast
Yes 2,085,224 79.87 60.35
No 525,502 20.13 15.21
Total votes 2,610,726 100 75.56
Voter turnout 49.37%

State Treasurer Amendment

State Treasurer Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which amended Sections 1, 2, and 3 of Article IV of the 1870 Constitution of Illinois was approved by voters.[1] Among its changes was, beginning with the 1956 election, making the term of the State Treasurer be expanded from two to four years.[6]

In order for constitutional amendments to be passed by voters, they required either two-thirds support among those specifically voting on the measure or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.[8][9]

State Treasurer Amendment[1][3]
Option Votes  % of votes

on measure

  % of all ballots
cast
Yes 2,024,483 79.21 58.59
No 531,318 20.79 15.38
Total votes 2,555,801 100 73.97
Voter turnout 48.33%

Local elections

Local elections were held.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "OFFICIAL VOTE of the STATE OF ILLINOIS Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER 2, 1954 JUDICIAL ELECTION, 1953, 1954 SPECIAL ELECTION, 1953 • PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL, 13, 1954" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  2. ↑ "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 16, 1982" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 2, 1982" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  5. ↑ Illinois Constitution of 1870 ARTICLE XIV Section 2
  6. 1 2 3 "Official Publication Notice of Proposed Constitutional Amendments". Newspapers.com. Galesburg Register-Mail. August 17, 1954. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Illinois Michigan Canal Amendment (1954)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  8. 1 2 1870 Illinois Constitution Article XIV
  9. 1 2 "Illinois Re-election of County Officers Amendment (1952)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
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