Winning By The Numbers

I have made it through the primary election and will be on the ballot for the November 6 General Election.  Early voting in Illinois is from October 15 through November 1.  Green Party Candidates will be listed first on the ballot in McHenry County.  Order of appearance for political parties was determined by lottery.  Being listed first can have as much as a 5% increase in votes.

I ran for County Board twice before - in 2008 and 2010.  In 2008, I received 3105 votes and needed 7839 additional votes to be elected and in 2010, I received 2181 votes and needed 5817 more to be elected.  2008 was a Presidential Election year and turnout can be 15-20% higher.

In my two prior elections, only two positions were being elected.  In a non redistricting year, half the County Board is up for election - 12 out of 24 seats.  Redistricting happens every 10 years and is prompted by the US Census numbers.  2012 is a redistricting year and all 24 seats - 4 seats in each of the 6 districts - are up for election.

I will be running is District 5 and face 5 opponents - 4 Republicans and 1 Democrat.  The voter can vote for up to 4 candidates.  As a result of redistricting, District 5 has gotten smaller, meaning the district has lost population relative to the other 5 districts.  10 Grafton Township Precincts have been reallocated to other County Board Districts.  Those districts were ones where I haven't done well traditionally.

District 5 has 30,295 registered voters.  Based upon past numbers and redistricting, I think it will take 9,500 votes to get elected.