With the expectation of possible record voter turnout for this year's presidential election on Nov. 8, many parents across the United States whose polling places are at their local schools are expressing concern about lax security on Election Day.

On a typical school day, doors are locked to outsiders, who must go through an elaborate security process to be granted admittance. On Election Day, however, voters are free to come and go without encountering locked doors or tight security.Using her cellphone, an Easton area woman showed how easy it was to make her way into the main part of a Palmer Township Elementary school building while she was there to cast a ballot in the April 26 primaries.The recording, which was posted on Facebook, raised enough concerns that officials are reviewing whether schools should be used in the future, and, if so, whether additional security is needed to prevent intrusions into the main part of the school building.Sara Andriotis, who shot the video showing her walking unchallenged past a security guard from the polling area into the main part of the school, said she did stop recording when told to do so by a principal she encountered in a hallway.In the Times News distribution area, no schools are used as polling places in Carbon, Schuylkill or Northampton counties, while five are in Monroe County. Most of the nonschool polling places are at fire halls, municipal buildings and churches.The Monroe school polling places are at East Stroudsburg South Area High School in East Stroudsburg borough, J.T. Lambert Intermediate Center and Smithfield Elementary Center, both in Smithfield Township, Pocono Elementary Center in Tannersville, and Stroudsburg Area High School in Stroudsburg borough.The Pennsylvania Election Code finds schools as desirable polling places because they are public, centrally located, well-known to local residents, and, usually, there is ample space to conduct the polling process.The Code says: "… Where possible and practicable, schoolhouses, municipal buildings or rooms, or other public buildings …" should be chosen for that purpose.In the past, schools were polling sites more often than today, and security was not a major concern; this is no longer the case in a post-Columbine and post-9/11 era.There have been isolated problems across the country. A Long Island principal asked that voting be moved from his school after a voter became enraged that former GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson's name was still on the Republican primary ballot, even though he had withdrawn.According to Principal Ken Gutmann, what began as a normal primary day on April 19 at Eugene Auer Memorial School turned violent when the voter started screaming and yelling, then kicked a table and stormed out of the gym and kicked the door on the way out. The man returned a short time later, and an argument began between him and a member of the board of elections. "He went to grab a pile of ballots that was on the table, the board of elections worker went over to him and kind of grabbed him and threw him out the door," Gutmann said.Common Cause recommends the use of schools as polling places, citing their space, low cost, prevalence and accessibility. "About a quarter of voters nationwide voted in schools in the 2008 and 2012 elections," a Common Cause representative said, noting that Pennsylvania, along with Georgia and Michigan, have the strongest statutory language encouraging the use of schoolhouses as polling places. While Common Cause encourages use of schools as polling places, it also recommends that Election Day be considered an in-service day without students present.Organizations have sprung up to deal with the problem of polling places in schools. In some cases, these organizations suggest that classes be called off on Election Day or that, as Common Cause suggests, the day be used as an in-service day for teacher training.According to National School Safety and Security Services, one recommendation is for school district administrators and safety personnel to meet before Election Day with their elections board administrators to discuss safety and security issues and guidelines for poll workers and poll operations.Another is for building administrators and facility/custodial managers to meet with on-site elections supervisors upon their arrival to review school-specific polling locations, parking procedures, designated in and out locations, emergency communications systems and protocols, and related information.A third is for schools to restrict election voting to one location or area of the school. Ideally, this location will have its own entrances and exits, thereby requiring voters to enter and leave the designated voting area without going through the rest of the school building. Many schools use their gymnasium, for example, which has doors where voters can enter and exit to and from the outside without going into the rest of the school. Student classes normally held in the gym are relocated elsewhere in the building for that day.Other recommendations the group makes include:• Provide clear signage for voter entrances and exits. Provide signage on secured doors not authorized for voter access to direct voters to the appropriate entrances.• Provide two-way communications capabilities (telephones, two-way radio, and/or cellphones) in the voting area so polling workers and/or school staff have immediate communications capabilities to call for assistance if needed.• If necessary, designate a restroom in the immediate voting room area for emergency use by voters. Avoid situations where voters have to walk through the building if they need to use restroom facilities.• Provide an increased presence of school security staff, School Resource Officers, and/or police patrols in and around schools.• Educate staff, students, and parents about Election Day security procedures and the need for heightened awareness ahead of time.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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