(10 ILCS 5/19A-21) Sec. 19A-21. Use of local public buildings for early voting polling places. Upon request by an election authority, a unit of local government (as defined in Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution, which does not include school districts) shall make the unit's public buildings within the election authority's jurisdiction available as permanent or temporary early voting polling places without charge. Availability of a building shall include reasonably necessary time before and after the period early voting is conducted at that building. However, if upon receiving the election authority's request, a park district organized under the Park District Code demonstrates to the election authority that the use of a specific room as an early voting polling place would interfere with scheduled programming, the election authority and the park district shall work cooperatively to find an alternative room at the same location to serve as an early voting polling place. If the park district and the election authority are unable to identify a mutually agreeable alternative location at the park district, the park district and election authority shall prepare documentation explaining the difficulties for their respective entities to the Board of County Commissioners who shall determine which room shall be used as an early voting polling place as soon as practicable to avoid delays in determining an early voting polling place. A unit of local government making its public building available as a permanent or temporary early voting polling place shall ensure that any portion of the building made available is accessible to voters with disabilities and elderly voters.(Source: P.A. 103-600, eff. 7-1-24.) |