Women in Chicago cast significantly more ballots than men during the recent primary election, according to unofficial results released by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners on March 19. The data showed that women submitted 223,376 ballots compared to 171,385 from men, representing a difference of about 23 percent.
This trend is consistent with previous elections in the city. In June 2022’s primary, women outvoted men by approximately 23 percent, and in March 2018’s primary, the gap was about 19 percent. Max Bever, spokesperson for the elections board, said this pattern has been observed repeatedly. “Election after election in Chicago, female voters outpace men every single election,” Bever said. “There’s generally more female registered voters in Chicago, and they also turn out at better rates election after election.”
While women make up about 51 percent of Chicago’s population based on July estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, their turnout at the polls is even higher relative to men for all types of elections. Bever said this holds true regardless of whether it is a primary or general election: “I think what we have seen in Chicago is that no matter what election that is, women are coming out to vote in Chicago,” he said. “So despite the popularity of election cycles, primary versus general versus municipal, women are always coming out to vote and voting at a higher rate than men in Chicago.”
The gender gap seen locally reflects national trends as well; since 1984, women have turned out at higher rates than men in every presidential contest across the United States.
Jane Ruby, president of the League of Women Voters Chicago, attributed part of this turnout to issues such as affordability and caregiving responsibilities that disproportionately affect women. “Women are the majority of caregivers at home, so things like education, child care, health care, affordability are already built into what women are going to experience daily and chronically,” Ruby said. She added that federal laws affecting reproductive rights and voting access have motivated more political engagement among women: “There’s so many aspects of what we’re experiencing as a country right now that the pressure is on for women to not only pay attention, educate themselves but also activate themselves in the political process.”
Julie Lynn—a communications consultant and advocate for abortion rights—said candidates’ positions on abortion were especially important for many voters this cycle. She pointed to Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss’s visit last year to Uptown’s Hope Clinic as an example; Biss won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s seat against state Sen. Laura Fine and commentator Kat Abughazaleh.
“I think Daniel Biss did a really great job of speaking to women’s needs,” Lynn said. “When he spoke about abortion in general, he talked about not only restoring Roe but going beyond that.” Lynn also praised Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton—who won her party’s nomination for Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat—for openly discussing abortion rights: “When you don’t say [abortion], you’re just further stigmatizing it,” she said. “It’s a winning issue. It’s silly for people to not talk about it.”
