Four out of five elections were uncontested in Illinois and Wisconsin on April 1

By

Lara Bonatesta

Welcome to the Monday, April 7, 2025, Brew. 

By: Lara Bonatesta

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Four out of five elections were uncontested in Illinois and Wisconsin on April 1
  2. 16- and 17-year-olds to vote for the first time in the Newark Public School Board election on April 15 
  3. Here’s a roundup of state supreme court vacancy news from March 

Four out of five elections were uncontested in Illinois and Wisconsin on April 1

Illinois and Wisconsin held a combined 18,641 elections on April 1, primarily local elections to school boards, city councils, and other special districts.

But, in both states, it was clear who the winners would be in the majority of those elections since more than four out of every five elections were uncontested.

An uncontested election is one where the number of candidates on the ballot is less than or equal to the number of seats up for election. Candidates running in uncontested elections are virtually guaranteed to win.

These rates exceed the typical percentage of uncontested elections Ballotpedia has observed nationwide. Throughout 2024, 70% of the 76,902 elections covered were uncontested; through March 2025, the uncontested rate was 34% of 564 elections.

For Wisconsin, the April 1 figures represent an increase in uncontested spring elections compared to 2024, when 72% of the state’s 3,621 elections were uncontested. Ballotpedia does not have historical uncontested election information for Illinois.

In both states, the most populous counties tended to have fewer uncontested elections than their rural counterparts, but the rate of uncontested elections still hovered just under 80%.

In Illinois, mid to large-sized counties had the most uncontested elections. In the state’s counties with populations ranging from 25,500 to 53,000, 87% of elections were uncontested.

In Wisconsin, the least-populous counties had the most uncontested elections, with a rate of 88% in counties with populations less than 19,000.

The map below shows all Illinois counties based on their uncontested election rate.

The lowest rates of uncontested elections were in and around the Chicago metro area. Cook County itself had an uncontested rate of 67%. Adams County, located in western Illinois and home to Quincy, had the highest rate of uncontested elections at 95%.

Like Illinois, Wisconsin’s Milwaukee metro area tended to have lower uncontested rates. In Waukesha County, for example, 62% of elections were uncontested. Green Lake County, west of Fond du Lac, had the highest rate at 96%.

For Illinois, this analysis includes write-in candidates when determining whether an election was contested or uncontested. Wisconsin figures do not include write-ins and, therefore, could vary slightly from what is shown here.

Both Illinois and Wisconsin are part of Ballotpedia’s expanding coverage scope, providing comprehensive election coverage at all levels of government. Oklahoma, also part of that expanded coverage, held general elections on April 1, but unlike Illinois and Wisconsin, Oklahoma cancels uncontested general elections.

Click here to learn more about Ballotpedia’s expanding coverage and other states included in 2025.

16- and 17-year-olds to vote for the first time in the Newark Public School Board election on April 15

Eleven candidates are running in the nonpartisan general election for three at-large seats on the Newark Public Schools school board on April 15. The three candidates who receive the most votes will serve three-year terms on the board. 

This election will be the first since the Newark City Council voted in January 2024 to lower the voting age for local school board elections. According to § 21:1-2 of the Newark city charter, any citizen who is at least 16 or will be 16 on election day is eligible to vote in school board elections.

As we mentioned last year when we covered the city council’s decision in Hall Pass—our newsletter dedicated to school board elections and education policy—this is not the first time a municipality has lowered the voting age in local elections. In 2013, Takoma Park, Maryland, became the first municipality in the country to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in city elections. The change did not include school board elections, which are run by Montgomery County, Maryland. At least ten other municipalities have also lowered the voting age for some elections.

Chalkbeat Newark’s Jessie Gómez wrote that the move to lower the voting age came after Newark leaders had “raised concerns about voter turnout in the annual school board election that has historically seen around 3% to 4% of registered voters participating.” 

In 2023, 3.1% of the city’s 195,000 registered voters cast ballots in that year’s school board elections. Each of the three winners received fewer than 3,500 votes. As of March 21, 1,166 teenagers registered to vote in the election. Of those voters, 473 will be 16 years old by Election Day, and 693 will be 17.

The 11 candidates running are divided between two three-member slates and five independent candidates. Incumbent Kanileah Anderson is running for re-election, and incumbents Crystal Williams and Daniel Gonzalez are not seeking re-election.

All nine current board members were elected running on the “Moving Newark Schools Forward” slate. Anderson, Louis Maisonave Jr., and David Daughety are running on that slate. Gómez wrote that the slate – which has won every election since 2016 – “garners support from state and local politicians, including Mayor Ras Baraka and state Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, every year.”

Ade’Kamil Kelly, Shana Melius, and Nathanael Barthelemy are running on the “Prioritizing Newark’s Children” slate. According to an official Facebook post, the slate is “dedicated to ensuring our schools put students first by improving resources, opportunities, and outcomes for every child.”

The five candidates running independently are Elaine Asyah Aquil, DeWayne Bush, Latoya Jackson, Yolanda Johnson, and Jordy Nivar. Jackson and Johnson previously ran for the board, while Aquil, Bush, and Nivar are running for the first time.

For more information on this election and the candidates running, click here.

Here’s a roundup of state supreme court vacancy news from March 

In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, let’s look at who retired, was nominated, appointed, confirmed, and sworn in March.

Here’s a quick summary of what happened:

  • One justice announced her retirement 
  • Two judicial nominating commissions released finalist lists, and one state body confirmed a justice nomination.
  • Three justices were sworn in as members of their respective states’ supreme courts.

Announced retirements:

Kansas Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Z. Wilson announced on March 24 that she will retire effective July 4. In her retirement letter, she cited her recent ALS diagnosis as the reason for leaving the bench. Governor Laura Kelly (D) appointed Wilson in 2019, and voters retained her in 2022. Kelly will choose Wilson’s successor through assisted appointment.

Candidates nominated, appointed, and confirmed:

Justices sworn in/out:

Other news:

Michigan Supreme Court justices elected Associate Justice Megan Cavanagh to succeed Elizabeth Clement as the chief justice once Clement steps down. Clement has not announced her official retirement date but has stated that she will step down by April 30.For a full list of the court vacancies Ballotpedia covers in 2025, click here.