Voters who reported to the Collinsville Area Recreational District (CARD) office to cast a ballot during the early hours of polling this morning were greeted in the parking lot by a chilly breeze…and an illegal electioneer. Illinois law states that all electioneering, exit polling, and political signage must be kept a minimum of 100 feet from the polling place.

When my father-in-law voted this morning, however, a woman approached him just outside the door of the polling place and handed him a paper. Madison County, Illinois, is apparently an exception. The woman outside the CARD office stood no more than thirty feet from the door, distributing pamphlets for Marleen Suarez, candidate . And based on the layout of the polling place, she actually stood less than 100 feet from the voting booths.

A few hours later, my mother-in-law went to vote. Having already heard from her husband that their was illegal electioneering going on, she approached the woman and informed her that it was illegal to campaign within 100 feet of the door. When she got inside, several other voters were complaining to the election judges about the woman outside.

We told the judges that she was right in front of the door. They said she was fine. One man even told them he had measured the distance, and that she was less than 30 feet from the door. After she came inside and gave us dirty looks, on of the election judges went outside and showed her where she was supposed to stand. -Mary Kruta

After being directed by the election judge to move, she did. But she was obviously not happy about being moved.