Hotel To Replace Rejected Northwestern University Polling Place

EVANSTON, IL — After Northwestern University administrators refused to allow a polling place on campus for the Nov. 3 general election, a downtown Evanston hotel offered to step in.

The new polling place for roughly 2,500 registered voters in three Evanston precincts is at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1818 Maple Ave., according to the Cook County Clerk's Office.

Before university administrators notified the clerk's office they would not permit the usual polling place at Alice Millar Chapel and Parkes Hall, 1870 Sheridan Road, on Election Day, the office had already sent out notices to voters, according to the deputy clerk in charge of elections.

A Northwestern spokesperson has not responded to questions about the timing or implications of the cancellation.

RELATED: Northwestern Administrators Prohibit Polling Places From Evanston Campus

The Hilton on Maple Avenue will serve as an Election Day voting site for Precinct 1 and Precinct 4 in the 1st Ward and Precinct 6 in the 7th Ward after it "graciously extended an offer to act as a polling place," Deputy Clerk Ed Michalowski said.

A list of all polling places in suburban Cook County is available from the clerk's office. Each ward in Evanston includes four to seven precincts.

Voters who requested mail-in ballots but wish to vote in person must bring the physical ballot with them and give it to election judges to avoid having to cast a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are generally less likely to be counted.

Mail ballots can also be dropped off at a series of drop box locations offered by the clerk's office, including at Evanston's Civic Center, Centennial Park in Wilmette and the Skokie campus of Oakton Community College.

Early voting started last week in suburban Cook County courthouses, including in Skokie. Early voting at the Evanston Civic Center and other suburban municipal locations begins Oct. 19.