County Board Resolution on UI Polling Place Won’t Sway Shelden

The Champaign County Board has gone on record opposing the county clerk's plans to move early voting to an alternate site on the University of Illinois campus.

On a party line vote of 13 to 11, Democrats backed a resolution in support of using the Illini Union, but Republican County Clerk Mark Shelden said he was not at all swayed by the vote, and he will follow through with using a location at 700 South Gregory Street in Urbana. Members of three U of I student groups spoke up to oppose the change, saying Gregory Place is hard to find, and will not have the convenience of the union. Democrat Steve Beckett said he has been a long supporter of student voting, but he added that Shelden and prior Champaign County Clerks have made it difficult.

"The only thing the students are asking for is the same opportunity to early vote as everybody else in this county," said Beckett. "And they want an opportunity to vote in a place that's close to them just as I want an opportunity to vote for early voting in a place that's close to me."

Shelden, a republican, said his goal all along was to find a location free from political activity, and accessible to everyone.

"If we really want to have a discussion about early voting, if people are really concerned, then we need to have a discussion about how we offer this to every voter in Champaign County."

In four years of early voting, Shelden says this is the first time the county board has taken interest in the issue. With some marketing, he says the Gregory Street location can be a big success.