Suffolk county schools petition to move polls outside of school buildings

An increasing number of districts are looking to move polling locations out of schools in Suffolk due to safety concerns.

News 12 Staff

Oct 31, 2019, 6:56 PM

Updated 1,637 days ago

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An increasing number of districts are looking to move polling locations out of schools in Suffolk due to safety concerns.
According to records obtained by News 12, there are nine Suffolk County districts that have made that request in recent years to have polls moved outside of schools.
Stagecoach Elementary School in Selden is one of those schools. It's an active polling place during elections, and administrators say they've increased security in recent years.
The school has asked that voting be removed from all of the district's school buildings and moved into community centers, libraries and fire houses instead.
According to officials from the Board of Elections, schools are ideal polling places because they have large gymnasiums, plenty of parking and handicapped access.
However, the board says it does consider each request and many been honored. Some of the schools have been taken off the list of polling places, while others remain active.


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