Mount Sterling leans Republican by roughly 30 points: about 35% of voters vote Democratic and 65% Republican.
About 70% of adults in Mount Sterling typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Mount Sterling, ~25% vote Democratic, ~45% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Mount Sterling compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Mount Sterling leans more Republican than 1 of 47 neighbors.
Mount Sterling runs about 41 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Mount Sterling is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Mount Sterling. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+53) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+24), a spread of about 29 points.
Why Mount Sterling leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Mount Sterling, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Mount Sterling votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 56%, well above the Illinois average of 33%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Mount Sterling runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Mount Sterling, IL sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Mount Sterling looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Mount Sterling is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Hersman, IL R+32
- Mound Station, IL R+62
- Timewell, IL R+63
- Ripley, IL R+54
- Cooperstown, IL R+60
- Versailles, IL R+60
- Clayton, IL R+66
- Camden, IL R+55
- Kellerville, IL R+72
- Chambersburg, IL R+58
Cities with Similar Populations
- Royalton, MN R+58
- Mountain Lake, MN R+54
- Tennessee Ridge, TN R+63
- Randolph, NY R+42
- Orion, IL R+31
- Onamia, MN R+33
- Bloomingdale, MI R+33
- Jonesboro, IL R+48
- Iberia, MO R+73
- Adams Center, NY R+25
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Illinois State Board of Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.