I Voted Stickers 350SPRINGFIELD – Illinois would join Texas in forbidding guns in polling places under a plan introduced by State Senator Ann Gillespie.

“If Texas can see the problem with people bringing guns to vote, then so can Illinois,” said Gillespie, an Arlington Heights Democrat. “In these times of intense political division, it’s understandable that people would be concerned about their safety at voting sites. Voters should leave their guns at home. It’s as simple as that.”

Gillespie’s Senate Bill 1242 would prohibit concealed carry weapons from polling places and their parking lots.

During the 2016 presidential election, voters in Loudoun County, Virginia, who were dropping off absentee ballots at a voting location were greeted by a man with a gun strapped to his waist who questioned at least one of them about their preferred candidate.

Four states currently prohibit guns at voting sites: Texas, Florida, Louisiana and California. Georgia bars firearms within 150 feet of a polling station.

Twenty percent of Illinois polling sites are not in buildings that are gun-free zones under state law.