Laws Cover Election Polling Places
by Randy Pierce
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. at many locations in St. Clair County next Tuesday, November 5, in conjunction with the 2024 general election. Anyone standing in line to vote when the polls close at 7 p.m. will still be permitted to cast his or her ballot.
No form of identification is required to vote for individuals who are lawfully registered but having one with a photo is a good idea in case any questions from election judges would surface at that time.
There are state laws that prohibit the taking of “selfie” photos with a ballot and restrict any sort of political campaigning inside polling places or within 100 feet of them. This campaigning prohibition includes the wearing of clothing or buttons and the carrying/display of signs supporting any candidates or causes or making statements of this type inside or within 100 feet of a polling place.
In many polling places, there will be markers, traffic cones, small United States flags or other items located at applicable points to delineate the 100-foot distance as mentioned above.
St. Clair County Clerk Thomas Holbrook has created, in cooperation with the county state’s attorney, James F. Gomric, Sheriff Rick Watson, the Illinois attorney general’s office and the United States attorney’s office, a system to assist the public in reporting violations of the voting process regulations in St. Clair County.
A “hotline” has been set up for this purpose and may be called at 618-825-2366 or for those wishing to use this integrated system established to report violations, complaints may be e-mailed to [email protected] or written correspondence provided to the St. Clair County Clerk’s Office, Attention: Election Department, 10 Public Square, Belleville, IL, 62220.
All such emails received will be sent to the aforementioned government officials and the St. Clair County Election Department automatically. All letters and complaints filed by phone at the Election Department will be documented, scanned and automatically distributed through the same voter integrity email system.
Under the Federal Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, those qualified individuals who need assistance in marking the ballot, with procedures for a vote by mail ballot or early voting by personal appearance may direct any questions or requests for assistance to the county clerk’s election department at 825-2366.
The polling places established for this election in Fairview Heights include Christ Church, 339 Frank Scott Parkway; The Rec, 9950 Bunkum Road; The Rec Room in the municipal complex at 10025 Bunkum Road; Parkview Church of The Nazarene, 50 Longacre Drive; Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 505 Fountains Parkway; and the gym (rear entrance) at Pontiac Junior High School, 400 Ashland Avenue.
Voters living in parts of Fairview Heights around the perimeter areas of the city or not within the city’s boundaries may also cast their ballots, dependent upon the location of their residence, at Skyline Church, 870 Milburn School Road; the Caseyville Township garage, 6990 Old Collinsville Road, both considered as O’Fallon; or the Hollywood Heights Fire Department, 1214 Hollywood Heights Road; or the gym (rear entrance) at St. Stephen Catholic Church, 901 South Main Street, both considered as Caseyville.
The polling places established for this election in Mascoutah and the surrounding area include the Engelmann Township building at 7083 Highbanks Road and the gym at the local high school at 1313 West Main Street while those serving Lebanon consist of the gym/convocation center at McKendree University, 610 Alton Street, the Lebanon Township office, 10182 Summerfield South Road (actually in rural Trenton) and New Life in Christ Church at 689 Scott-Troy Road. Some rural Mascoutah voters will be casting their ballots at the Fayetteville Village Hall, 2212 Main Avenue in Fayetteville.
