Scott County is a Republican stronghold. About 18% of voters here vote Democratic and 82% Republican.
About 64% of adults in Scott County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Scott County, ~12% vote Democratic, ~52% Republican, and ~36% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Scott County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Scott County is the most Republican-leaning.
Scott County runs about 75 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Scott County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Scott County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Scott County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Scott County sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 95% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 14 points above the Illinois average of 81%. Scott County runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Scott County, IL sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Scott County looks the way it does
Turnout in Scott County sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Morgan County, IL R+25
- Greene County, IL R+56
- Pike County, IL R+57
- Cass County, IL R+31
- Brown County, IL R+39
- Schuyler County, IL R+44
- Calhoun County, IL R+56
- Jersey County, IL R+44
- Pike County, MO R+55
- Menard County, IL R+41
Counties with Similar Populations
- Gallatin County, IL R+60
- Toole County, MT R+43
- Rooks County, KS R+66
- Phillips County, KS R+68
- Wheeler County, TX R+67
- Dickey County, ND R+55
- Pickett County, TN R+70
- Craig County, VA R+64
- Ouray County, CO D+13
- Thayer County, NE R+61
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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.