The Daily Northwestern Cook County officials are considering moving two polling sites to Northwestern's campus for the April 3 municipal elections, but the changes might not alleviate crowding in student-dominated precincts, City Clerk Mary Morris said Wednesday. After a high voter turnout and a paperwork backlog created long lines at two Evanston polling locations in November, the county is adding election judges and upgrading equipment to make the lines move faster, Morris said. About 1,500 South Campus and Evanston residents are registered to vote in the Sixth Precinct of the First Ward, making it nearly three times larger than an average Cook County precinct. Many of those residents, who vote at the Evanston Public Library, waited in two-hour lines during the November election. The lines could grow even longer after student groups embark on another voter registration campaign before the April 3 elections, said Lucile Krasnow, NU's community relations specialist.
Students deserve a precinct of their own.
At that time, the county will use census data to redraw district lines, eliminating many of the current problems, Morris said. Before April's elections, the county is looking at moving seven polling places to make them accessible to the disabled including moving one site to the Technological Institute, Morris said. Many North Campus residents in the Ninth Precinct of the Seventh Ward who voted at the Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in November might now be able to vote at Tech. Morris said the moves will make all Evanston polling locations comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandates that polling locations be wheelchair-accessible. Also, University President Henry Bienen has asked the county to move one polling location from the Evanston Public Library to Parkes Hall, an option that is still under consideration, according to Scott Burnham, spokesman for the Cook County Clerk's Office.