Electoral College impact/ overlooked voters/ Waukegan Illinois/ swing states focus/ election 2024/ Newslooks/ WAUKEGAN/ Ill./ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The Electoral College system sidelines most U.S. voters by focusing campaign attention on a few swing states. In cities like Waukegan, Illinois, voters feel ignored by presidential candidates, who allocate resources and visits to states like neighboring Wisconsin. This approach shapes campaign strategies, impacting voter engagement and leaving communities outside swing states feeling overlooked.
The Electoral College and Overlooked Voters in America – Quick Looks
- Electoral College Impact: Focuses on swing states, sidelining many U.S. voters.
- Waukegan’s Experience: Illinois city feels overlooked while nearby Wisconsin gets campaign attention.
- Campaign Hotspots: Seven battleground states see three-quarters of candidate visits.
- Community Response: Waukegan residents build grassroots support amid limited political focus.
The Electoral College’s Impact on Non-Swing States in 2024
Deep Look
As Election Day approaches, the U.S. Electoral College system continues to shape how presidential candidates target their campaigns, drawing them to battleground states while sidelining large swaths of the country. This dynamic leaves cities like Waukegan, Illinois, outside the focus of campaign efforts, as candidates concentrate on states like neighboring Wisconsin, a key swing state.
In Waukegan, a suburb on the edge of Chicago, Democratic organizer Matt Muchowski notes that campaign materials like Harris-Walz yard signs are scarce, while neighboring Wisconsin is saturated with outreach. This illustrates the broader reality that the Electoral College system drives candidates and campaign resources toward states with close political divides, while voters in states like Illinois, with strong historical leanings, receive minimal attention.
Waukegan last saw a presidential candidate in 2020, when then-President Donald Trump briefly stopped at its airport before heading to a rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This stopover is emblematic of how non-swing states are often ignored in favor of nearby battlegrounds. Muchowski believes this “anti-democratic” system places disproportionate importance on certain states, diluting the influence of urban and minority populations like those in Waukegan.
The Influence of Swing States
In contrast to Illinois, Wisconsin has seen 27 campaign stops this year alone. Waukegan’s nearby counterpart, Racine, Wisconsin, regularly hosts presidential hopefuls. Trump held a June rally in Racine, lauding local development, while President Joe Biden praised a new Microsoft center in the area in May. Racine’s prominence in campaign schedules reflects Wisconsin’s critical role in the election, being one of just seven battleground states expected to decide the 2024 outcome.
These key battleground states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—represent 18% of the population but receive an outsized share of campaign visits and resources. Data from the Associated Press reveals that 75% of all candidate events have been in these seven states, with Pennsylvania alone seeing 41 visits. Campaign stops are concentrated even further in specific counties within these states, targeting areas critical to electoral success.
A Tale of Two Cities: Waukegan and Racine
The difference in campaign attention is stark when comparing Waukegan’s struggling community to Racine’s flourishing development. Waukegan, with a 60% Latino and 16% Black population, faces high poverty, limited job opportunities, and environmental challenges from a legacy of industrial pollution. It has five Superfund sites, and its lakefront, once an industrial hub, is now dotted with abandoned factories and contaminated soil. Despite these struggles, presidential candidates rarely address issues specific to communities like Waukegan, focusing instead on areas with electoral sway.
Former Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham notes that people feel left out of the national conversation. “They’re probably thinking, ‘Why should we put money over here when we need it in these battleground states?’” he said. Residents like Margaret Padilla Carrasco, who recently traveled to Wisconsin to hear Vice President Kamala Harris speak, are growing frustrated. “If you don’t spend time with us, then don’t expect us to vote for you,” she said, underscoring the frustration many feel.
Thomas Maillard, a lifelong resident and Democratic State Central Committeeman for Illinois’ 10th Congressional District, attributes this disregard to the Electoral College, which he calls “a system of potential neglect.” The structure, he argues, steers attention away from communities that could benefit from targeted support on critical issues like job access, education, and health care.
Grassroots Resilience in Overlooked Cities
Despite limited national attention, Waukegan residents are known for their resilience, often organizing to address local issues themselves. Pastor Julie Contreras, an advocate with the nonprofit United Giving Hope, works tirelessly to support her community, from organizing roofing repairs for families in need to collecting diapers for new mothers. She believes that candidates are missing an opportunity to connect with a vibrant community with unique stories.
For Contreras, Waukegan represents a community of “grit and imagination.” She laments that while candidates stop at Waukegan’s airport en route to Wisconsin, they miss the chance to engage with the city’s residents on pressing issues, such as housing and environmental justice.
Muchowski echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that Waukegan residents know how to support one another. This do-it-yourself approach fosters a strong local spirit, but he argues that residents deserve national acknowledgment, too. “Waukegan, for a lot of people, is a city of grit and imagination,” he says, hoping candidates will eventually recognize its potential.
As the 2024 election unfolds, communities like Waukegan remain on the periphery of campaign priorities. The focus on a handful of swing states highlights the continuing impact of the Electoral College, drawing a dividing line that leaves large parts of the country on the sidelines of presidential politics.
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