Centre County is moving several polling places to new locations for the Nov. 3 election after a Department of Justice accessibility review found that some existing sites did not meet updated standards.
Federal accessibility requirements for polling places have been in place since the 1980s, said Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins, who is also vice-chair of the county's board of elections, but the standards polling locations must meet have changed over time.
During the 2022 gubernatorial election, the DOJ audited 20 of Centre County’s 86 polling locations. Higgins said Centre County sees these reviews about every decade.
After the county received that report in 2024, they brought in an architect to help them meet the standards. The county worked with some polling locations on simple fixes, like adding signage or grinding down ramps that were too steep. But Higgins says they decided to move eight polling places, since most of the locations usually only need to meet the less stringent state accessibility standards.
“Rather than push these churches or nonprofits or local businesses to spend thousands of dollars to allow us to use their location twice a year, we’re moving a lot of these polling places to locations that have already passed,” Higgins said.
Historically, the county tried to keep polling places within the precincts they serve, but Higgins said that might not be possible.
The architect will eventually assess the county’s roughly 60 remaining locations to determine they’re in compliance.
Higgins said renovations could still be an option for any of those polling places that need updates. He said the county can negotiate improvements with property owners, with costs potentially split between the property and the county when projects become more expensive.
Higgins said it will probably take Centre County and other counties across the state and country years to work through the federal accessibility requirements.
The county said it notified voters whose polling places had changed through postcards. You can look up your polling place on the Pennsylvania Department of State website.
Here are the precincts that have moved and their new locations:
Precinct 1: Bellefonte North
Living Hope Alliance
321 E. Howard St., Bellefonte
Precinct 5: Bellefonte West
Lambert Hall
303 Forge Road, Bellefonte
Precinct 20: State College South 2
Foxdale Village Retirement Community
500 E. Marylyn Ave., State College
Precinct 66: Patton South 1
Oakwood Presbyterian Church
1865 Waddle Road, State College
Precinct 80: Spring West
Centre County Bar Association
192 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte
Precinct 88: Ferguson North 3
Cedar Heights Church Children's Building
870 Stratford Drive, State College
Precinct 89: Ferguson West Central
Penn State Technology Support Building
300 Science Park Road, State College
Precinct 91: Ferguson North Central
Centre Region Council of Governments
2643 Gateway Drive #4, State College
Voters who go to a former polling location will see signs explaining that the polling place has been moved and giving directions to the new site.