Illinois Voting Records

To make it easier for election officials, voting registers were often arranged alphabetically by the names of citizens eligible to vote. In addition to the name and address of the voter, these may contain naturalization information and date and place of birth. There was no poll tax on persons eligible to vote in Illinois.

Voting records that serve as a substitute for the 1890 census of Chicago and vicinity are found in:

Chicago (Illinois). Board of Election Commissioners. Record and Index of Persons Registered and of Poll Lists of Voters, Northern District of Illinois, City of Chicago, 1888, 1888–90, 1892; Town of Lake View, 1888; Town of Hyde Park, 1888; Town of Lake, 1888. Springfield, Illinois: Office of the Secretary of State, Micrographics Division, Source Document Unit, 1989. (FamilyHistory Library films 1730744–66)

For voters in Chicago in 1937, see the Lurie Index mentioned in the "Directories" section.

Original poll (voter) lists may be found in the custody of county clerks and in IRAD depositories.

Family History Library
The Family History Library has few such lists for Illinois, other than those for Chicago. Those available can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:


 * ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- VOTING REGISTERS
 * ILLINOIS, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- VOTING REGISTERS