Residents who formerly voted at Silver Lake Village Hall and the Wilmot Fire Station will have a new place to vote for at least 2026 after actions by the Salem Lakes Village Board Tuesday.
The board voted to discontinue using the old Silver Lake Village Hall building and the Wilmot Fire Station for voting. The vote was unanimous with all members present.
Those who used to vote at Silver Lake Village Hall will now vote at Salem Lakes Village Hall, 9814 Antioch Road, Salem. Those who used to vote in Wilmot will vote at Salem Lakes Fire Station No. 1/Public Works, 11252 254th Ct., in Trevor.
So far, the changes are just for the remaining elections in 2026, which include the spring election April 7, the partisan primary election In August and the fall election in November, but village Clerk Sara Spencer said the matter will be considered for ongoing implementation if it works well.
“People might like it,” Spencer said.
The change was prompted in part by the situation with the Silver Lake location. The former village hall is in disrepair and is being marketed for rental by the village.
While the original plan was to move voting to the former rescue squad building in Silver Lake near the old village hall, that building could not be made accessible enough for voting due to cold weather of late, Spencer said.
“I have nowhere in Silver Lake for a good stable polling location,” Spencer said. She pointed out schools and churches typically are no longer open to serving as polling locations.
The change will mean all voting is taking place at village properties. The village does not own the Wilmot fire station property.
Voting did sometimes change for Silver Lake and Wilmot voters under the old system. For elections with low anticipated turnout, all voters voted in Salem at Village Hall. Higher turnout elections used all three locations.
“My biggest complaint when I started was people didn’t know where to vote,” Spencer said. The new arrangement could bring stability to that situation.
No member of the public spoke for or against the proposal at a public hearing on the changes held Tuesday at the Village Board meeting.
But some board members expressed concerns.
Trustee Bill Hopkins, who lives in Silver Lake, expressed concern that Silver Lake voters might be confused at the first election coming up.
“This is not going to go well for that April election,” Hopkins said.
Other trustees were not as concerned about confusion.
“I never know where I’m going to vote, so I always call or look online and figure it out,” Trustee Angela Brooks said. “So what’s the big concern?”
Spencer said there are plans to give affected voters notice of the change through a postcard mailing and signs before the next election.
