Reply #123: Most places do not have dedicated voting sites

[AngryAmish]

So in order to turn a church into a voting site the first step, I suppose, is for the local board of elections to ask permission of the church to use the church as a voting site.

If the church (through whatever decision-making mechanism the individual church has) says yes, then the local board of elections must tell some employees to bring the voting equipment over to the church. Then I guess someone at the church has to let them in. After that the employees of the board of elections must set up the equipment and prepare it to be used as a polling place. (While there are many board of elections volunteers, I am leaving them out of this discussion. When I say "board of elections employees" I am referring to all people, paid or unpaid, that are doing tasks for the board of elections.) I guess this should be done well in advance of election or primary day.

On the day of voting the church then has to open its doors to let the board of elections employees in to get ready for the voters. When the appropriate time comes the doors should be unlocked to let the voters in. When the voters come into the church they should be directed to the polling place to cast their votes.

When the appropriate time comes the doors should be closed. Then the votes should be transported to the vote counting place, the equipment removed and the church locked up.

This, in essence, is the procedure. I am sure there are more complicated issues I have left out (electioneering, restrooms, etc.) but this is the skeleton of how a church can be used as a polling place. I am sure fellow DUers who work or volunteered for the local board of elections could provide more detail, perhaps in flow chart form.