Observer Report: Peoria Election Commission

3/18/2017: The Peoria Election Commission held their monthly board meeting on Tuesday afternoon at the Election Commission offices. They started by approving the payment of various bills and the changes to several polling places. All county polling places are now set, except for the one at Lake Camelot which has an issue with accessibility because of a bridge being out. That change will take place after the bridge repair is finished. Single polling places were merged in order to save on the cost of elections. One polling place was changed because of a poor cell phone signal required for same day registration.

Director Tom Bride also briefed the board on the progress of moving into the new location. Some mold and asbestos has been found in the building. The county engineer is working with the owners to get the needed repairs done. In the interim, the county is paying rent and utility bills, even though they cannot use the building. The election commission has no control over these payments.

The calendar for early voting in the general election was approved by the Commission. It will start on February 23, for those precincts not holding a primary and March 10, for those precincts holding a primary. Early voting will be available for one day in Brimfield, Chillicothe, Alpha Park, and Dunlap, and for one week at ICC North.

The Commission also gave the director permission to make small technical changes to precinct lines when parcels are annexed or errors are detected. The need for this was apparent after Princeville annexed two properties recently. This change would put the properties into the precinct of the town of Princeville rather than the rural precinct.

The next meeting of the Election Commission will be on March 9, 2017, combining the canvas of the primary with their regular meeting.

​– Irene Pritzker (meeting date: 2/14/17)