Madison County 2026 Primaries See Few Contests, Various Referendums

EDWARDSVILLE – Madison County voters will see very few contested county-wide races on their ballots for the 2026 primary elections.

In the Republican primary race for Madison County Clerk, Kurt Prenzler is challenging incumbent Linda Andreas. The party’s chosen nominee will go on to face Democrat Rachelle Bauerle in the general election on Nov. 3, 2026.

Only two County Board races will see competition during the primaries, with incumbents facing challengers in Districts 4 and 10.

Incumbent Bobby Ross faces challenger Thomas G. Maag for the Republican nomination in District 4, where the winner will face Democrat Robert C. Hubbard in November.

In District 10, challenger Donald Hodges seeks to oust incumbent Shawndell Wilson as the Democratic nominee, facing no Republican challenger so far in the general election.

The races for Madison County Treasurer, Sheriff, and Regional Superintendent of Schools each feature candidates running unopposed. These include Nancy Werden, seeking the Republican nomination for Regional Superintendent of Schools, as well as Treasurer Mike Babcock and Sheriff Jeff Connor, both incumbents.

Madison County voters will also see certain referendums on their ballot depending on where they live. Only one referendum will appear on all ballots county-wide, which reads as follows:

Should Illinois opt into a federal program that would provide Public K-12, private school, and homeschool students with privately donated funds for academic needs, such as tutoring and test preparation, educational therapies for students with disabilities, tuition, books, exam fees or for other specified academic needs?

Edwardsville voters will see a ballot referendum on whether to allow video gambling in certain establishments after its wording was heavily debated by City Council members in December of 2025. The question will appear on the ballot as follows:

Shall the City of Edwardsville allow video gambling subject to regulation in existing establishments with on premises consumption of alcohol/liquor?

Two questions will appear on the ballot for voters within the Long Lake Fire Protection District:

Shall the Maximum allowable rate for the Long Lake Fire Protection District, Madison County, Illinois, be increased from .30% to .40% of the value of all taxable property within the District as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue?

Shall the Board of Trustees of the Long Lake Fire Protection District, Madison County, Illinois, levy a special tax at a rate not to exceed 0.40% of the value of all taxable property within the District as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue for the purpose of providing an emergency ambulance service?

Several other fire protection districts will also face a referendum to reorganize portions of their territories into the “Eastern Madison County Ambulance Emergency Services District,” with the exact wording as follows:

Shall the territory of the Alhambra Community Fire Protection District, Grantfork Fire Protection District, with a portion in Madison County, Illinois and a portion in Bond County, Illinois, Highland-Pierron Fire Protection District, with a portion in Madison County, Illinois, a portion in Bond County, Illinois, and a portion in Clinton County, Illinois, Hamel Community Fire Protection District, Marine Community Fire Protection District, St. Jacob Township Fire Protection District, all in Madison County, Illinois and St. Rose Fire Protection District, with a portion in Madison County, Illinois and a portion in Clinton County, Illinois, be organized as The Eastern Madison County Ambulance Emergency Services District and shall the District be authorized to levy and collect a property tax not to exceed 0.20% on the property situated in the District?

Early voting for the March 17, 2026 primary election is now open for Madison County voters, with more information on where and when to vote early available on the Madison County Clerk website.

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