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The Sun Sentinel reported on July 8, 2016 in an article titled Elections supervisor removes Boca Raton mosque as polling site.  The article states in part: 

Palm Beach County's elections supervisor is moving a polling station from a Boca Raton mosque to a public library.
 
Bassem Alhalabi, president of the mosque, said it was Bucher's idea to make the mosque a polling location, but she told him in a recent phone call she reversed her decision amid opposition. He said Bucher told him she had received about 50 phone calls raising concern about the mosque.

Alhalabi said citizen complaints shouldn't warrant a change. The list of polling sites in Palm Beach County includes Christian churches and Jewish synagogues.

"This is not democratic," Alhalabi said. "If Muslims are good to vote in a church and a synagogue, then Christian and Jews are also good to vote in an Islamic center."

But there is a huge difference.  Christians and Jews are not advocating Sharia sanctioned cutting off of hands as Bassem Alhalabi, president of the mosque, did as a professor at Florida Atlantic University.  Nor are Christians and Jews associated with jihadists as Bassem Alhalabi is as reported below..

Breitbart.com reports:  Florida Atlantic Professor Defends Sharia Law Practice of Cutting Off Hands.  (THE UNITED WEST) On May 23, 2016 on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL, the university’s Muslim Student Association’s hosted a so-called Islamophobia panel discussion, which was attended by the United West.

FAU Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Associate Professor Bassem Alhalabi was included on the panel of these distinguished experts and he made the incredible statement about the case to be made for Sharia Law and it’s provisions of capital punishment, including the cutting off of hands.

‘“Where there is no Sharia, Islamic Sharia, they die in dozens and hundreds every day because of organized crime. People kill people, other people or steal pizza for $10 and so – so when Islamic Shariah is saying about capital punishment – so even though it sounds like it is severe but if that is the solution to prevent any crimes, then it still has a lot of rules and regulations. I will just mention one and stop here, which is let’s say cutting off the hands of a person if they steal. It sounds very severe. It sounds very barbaric, I know. But if takes one or two people to have their hands cut off, and then there’s no more stealing and there’s no more stealing in the whole nation – that’s a much better resolution than having hundreds of people die every day.”

Click here to see videos of Professor Bassem Alhalabi.

CreepingSharia reported on January 28, 2011 Muslim leader pleads guilty to assault and battery.  Bassem Alhalabi of United Voices for America (UVA) pled guilty to assault & battery charges on J. Mark Campbell of the Florida Security Council and investigative journalist and Chairman of Americans Against Hate Joe Kaufman.  According to the States Prosecutor Tiffany Cruz Bassem Alhalabi took the plea for a reduced sentence of community service and the attendance of the court ordered anger management course.

Bassem Alhalabi co-authored publications with Sami Al-Arian at the University of South Florida Computer Science and Engineering Department.  Alhalabi worked as an assistant to USF Professor Sami al-Arian while al-Arian was a leader in Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).  See page two of this document written by Sami Al-Arian for the four publications that he co-authored with Bassem Alhalabi.  Sami Al-Arian was indicted in 2003 on multiple counts related to supporting a Palestinian group on the State Department's terrorist list. Al-Arian then pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy to help a "specially designated terrorist" organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.  Al-Arian was sentenced to 57 months in prison, given credit for time served, and ordered deported following his prison term.  Bassem Alhalabi left USF and started employment at Florida Atlantic University in August 2002 just months before Sami Al-Arian was indicted.

Bassem Alhalabi has a history of supporting Sharia law.  Bassem Alhalabi was part of the United Voices for America March 2010 Tallahassee conference.   United Voices of America vigorously opposed legislation that would have prohibited Florida courts from considering Sharia law in their rulings.

CAIR issued a news release on July 11, 2016 titled CAIR-Florida Seeks Restoration of Mosque Polling Site Following Removal Based on Islamophobic Backlash.  The release states in part:

(MIAMI, FL, 7/11/2016) - The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida) today called for the restoration of a polling place in one of that state's mosques after it was removed following an Islamophobic backlash.

"The supervisor of elections is evidently targeted by an organized lobbying campaign spreading fear and Islamophobia. Her discretion to designate or remove polling sites must never be based on religious, racial or ethnic bias," said Laila Abdelaziz, CAIR-Florida legislative and government affairs director. "This apparent unconstitutional religious bias may need to be corrected by our courts."

Abdelaziz said CAIR-Florida is sending a written request for the supervisor to promptly reinstate the Islamic Center of Boca Raton as a polling station and will consider every legal avenue to prevent "this openly discriminatory decision affecting the federally protected rights of the Palm Beach County voters."

The Sun Sentinel reports that as many as fifty people have complained about the original decision to use the mosque as a voting poll.  If fifty people have complained there are most likely many more people who feel the same way.  Using the Bassem Alhalabi mosque will likely hurt voter turnout for this precinct.  That would be unfair to voters and people seeking office.  CAIR would rather call concerned citizens Islamophobes than recognize that Bassem Alhalabi's public statements and associations are troublesome to many people.

Florida Family Association has prepared an email for you to send to thank Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher for her decision to move the polling location to a public library.

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Contact information: 

Susan Bucher, Supervisor of Elections
240 South Military Trail
West Palm Beach, FL 33415
Email: susanbucher@pbcelections.org