Looking toward the 2012 November elections, constituents who live in Allendale Township might not gather at a local church to vote for the new president but instead could move to another location.

Township Board of Trustees started talks on changing the location on Feb. 28 after Trustee David Morren presented his argument against the continued use of a church for election polling. Morren feels because of the separation of church and state, election polling should not be held in a church, said Candy Kraker, township clerk.

The Second Christian Reformed Church, located at 6950 Lake Michigan Dr., is the current hub of five to six precincts, which makes voting easier to oversee and convenient for staff and voters, said Township Supervisor Jerry Alkema.

Alkema said according to the Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL), elections should be held at a government-owned facility such as the library, town hall or school. However, the schools are trying to get away from have elections at their locations because of the interruptions that occur and for security reasons, and the town hall and library have been used but are limited in parking and space.

Other ideas for polling places include GVSU, Allendale High School’s Ceglarek Fine Arts Center and the Village at 48 West student apartments. However, GVSU is already capping out at the 3,000-voter-per-precinct limit.

“I don’t think that (a change) is necessary at all,” Kraker said. “The church accommodates us beautifully.”

She said the Township has used the church for voting since 2008, and she has not received any complaints yet about having election polling there but rather has received many compliments.

“It hasn’t been an issue until this trustee brought it up, so this is the first we’ve started talking about it,” she said. “Otherwise people have been very pleased.”

Alkema and Kraker said the board decided Monday to suspend talk on the issue until the county redistricting census is completed later this summer. But if the voting precincts change because of the results from the census, one polling location would be less confusing to voters because all could find their precinct under one roof.

“The township staff can adapt relatively quickly to any change in polling location,” Alkema said. “The notification is a mailing and cost few dollars, but people have a hard time adjusting to new locations. No matter what happens, the goal is to make the election process as smooth as possible.”

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