Politics & Government

Photos of unusual US polling places: beauty salons, laundromats, and some guy’s garage

Voting at a 24-hour laundromat in Chicago
Voting at a 24-hour laundromat in Chicago
Image: AP Photo / Charles Rex Arbogast
By
Gloria Dawson
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Americans typically vote in schools and government buildings, but not everyone. The US Election Assistance Commission suggests that a polling place “should be located close to major traffic arteries for easy access.”  There’s nothing in the guidelines to stop election officials from picking restaurants, garages, or laundromats, and sometimes that’s exactly where voting takes place. Here are some photos of the most unusual polling places in the United States today:

Cemetery Voting
People wait in line to vote at the Neptune Society Columbarium, a public storage of cinerary urns, in San Francisco.
Image: AP Photo / Eric Risberg
Garage Voting
The Gallegos residence is converted into a polling station on election day in Stockton, California
Image: AP Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez
Museum Voting
Voting at the Holland Land Office Museum in Batavia, New York
Image: AP Photo / David Duprey
Mexican Restaurant Voting
A Mexican restaurant turned polling place in Chicago
Image: AP Photo / Jerome Delay
Mexican Restaurant Table Voting
Food is set at a Mexican Restaurant turned polling place in Chicago
Image: AP Photo / Jerome Delay
Auto voting
An auto dealership is turned into a polling place in Albany, New York
Image: AP Photo / Mike Groll
The garage of the Los Angeles County lifeguard headquarters is used as a polling place
The garage of the Los Angeles County lifeguard headquarters is used as a polling place
Image: Getty Images / Kevork Djansezian