Clerks to Implement Controversial New Law Aimed at Spurring Young Voters

Now that a program meant to stimulate more college-age voting has become law, one county clerk who spoke out against the bill has to figure out how to implement it.

Mark Shelden in Champaign County and some other clerks complained that the measure would be a financial hardship on counties. One of three voting bills signed by Governor Quinn over the weekend requires early voting sites to be set up on college campuses before each election.

Shelden says he has yet to choose a location on the University of Illinois' Urbana campus for such a center, but he says it will not be the centrally-located Illini Union, where active campaigh goes on during election season.

"Our polling place where we do early voting cannot be a hub of political speech -- it has to be a campaign free zone," said Shelden. "And so we'll be looking for a location that may be comparable to that in terms of traffic, but where we're able to regulate the speech activities during the 23-day period that we'll be conducting early voting." By law, campaigning is restricted around all polling sites, whether on Election Day or in early voting.

Supporters of the new law say the college early voting center will be available to all voters, not just students - opponents such as Shelden have said the centers would discriminate against voters in outlying areas by giving students easier access.