| By Big Radio News Staff |

The village of Footville gets its polling place moved at the last minute for what officials call “unresolved fire code violations.”

The Rock County Clerk’s Office says Footville’s polling got moved because election inspectors found lingering fire code violations at the village hall at 261 N. Gilbert Street.

The voting precinct has been moved to Footville Church of Christ at 117 Church Street, which is about four blocks from the village hall.

Voters are being rerouted there.

The clerk’s office says inspectors deemed it necessary to move the polling place for undisclosed “safety and security reasons.”

Footville Fire Department Deputy Chief Jeremy Mielke says the village knew that renovations a few years back had left village hall without a second door to exit, which is a fire code violation.

Mielke said as of Tuesday afternoon, he had not seen details of the election inspector’s decision. But he says Footville Fire and Rescue had notified the village of the violation “multiple times” prior to today’s election.

He says he believes village officials were aware that if the violation wasn’t remedied by the 2024 fall election, it was possible an election inspector would flag the polling place as not meeting code standards as a public polling place.

Footville village officials did not immediately respond to Big Radio for comment.