The Burlington County Board of Elections has approved removing polling places from Mt. Laurel school buildings, starting with the upcoming general election on Nov. 3.
The township and Mt. Laurel Board of Education requested the county approve the change after the June 2 primary when Parkway Elementary School received a threatening phone call during voting hours from a man who claimed he was inside the school with a gun.
Due to the incident, during which children were present in the building, voting was suspended and the school was locked down while police searched the area.
Ultimately, no threat was found, and polls and the school reopened later that morning.
Mayor Irwin Edelson and other members of the Mt. Laurel Township Council are stressing the only polling locations that are changing are those previously located within schools.
All other locations will remain the same.
“The only changes are schools,” Edelson said. “If you voted other than a school, you’re still voting in that same place. Only schools have changed.”
However, the change does mean about half of polling locations in the town will change, as in years past Mt. Laurel Schools have made up 15 of the township’s 27 voting districts.
The new polling locations are as follows:
• Districts 2 has moved from Fleetwood School to the Mt. Laurel EMS Building at 201 Masonville Road.
• District 3 has moved from Countryside School to Mt. Laurel Fellowship Fire Station at 3824 Church Road.
• District 4 has moved from Fleetwood School to New Covenant Presbyterian Church at 240 Creek Road.
• District 5 has moved from Larchmont School to Paws Farm at 1105 Hainesport Mt. Laurel Road.
• District 6 has moved from Parkway School to Mt. Laurel Fellowship Fire Station.
• District 7 has moved from Countryside School to Mt. Laurel Fellowship Fire Station.
• District 8 has moved from Parkway School to the Mt. Laurel Municipal Utilities Authority Building at 81 Elbo Lane.
• District 9 has moved from Parkway School to the Mt. Laurel Municipal Utilities Authority Building.
• District 14 has moved from Larchmont School to Paws Farm.
• District 16 has moved from Harrington School to the Mt. Laurel Community Center at 100 Mt. Laurel Road.
District 19 has moved from Larchmont School to Paws Farm.
• District 21 has moved from Hillside School to the Mt. Laurel Municipal Building at 100 Mt. Laurel Road.
• District 23 has moved from Hillside School to the Mt. Laurel Community Center.
• District 24 has moved from Harrington School to Paws Farm.
• District 27 has moved from Harrington School to the Mt. Laurel Library, 100 Walt Whitman Ave.
In 2005, the county denied a previous request from the Mt. Laurel School District to have polling places removed from schools after an incident during the 2004 election at Fleetwood Elementary School when a hooded individual threw a bag of white powder on the floor of the polling location and ran.
The incident resulted in an evacuation of the entire school while HAZMAT teams inspected the area, although eventually the powder was determined to not be harmful.
From then on, schools were closed on general election days, and for several years primary days were used for staff in-service, until complaints from parents led to district once again holding school on those days.
As such, during primaries, polling locations in the schools were placed so there was no voter contact with students.
Although Edelson said moving the polling locations out of schools won’t be easy for this first year, it was the safe and proper thing to do.
“Other townships have done this already. We’re going to do it now,” Edelson said.
