The Masjid-e-Ali Mosque on Cedar Grove Lane has been approved as a polling location for voting districts 14, 16 and 16.

Calling it a “new milestone to help the community,” a founder of the Masjid-e-Ali Mosque is applauding the decision to move three polling locations to the Cedar Grove Lane house of worship.

Somerset County Board of Electors on March 9 approved the requested move to the mosque of polling locations for voting districts 14, 15 from the Quailbrook Senior Citizens Center on New Brunswick Road, and voting district 16 from the Community/Senior Center in the municipal complex on DeMott Lane to the mosque .

The board also approved the move of the voting district 20 polling station from the community/senior center to the Quailbrook Senior Citizens Center.

Alex Kharazi, a director of the mosque and one of its founders, said mosque officials “always wanted to give community members the opportunity to visit our mosque.”

He said the directors took advantage of an opportunity that presented itself.

“Although some people have visited us on several occasions, we felt that having a polling station will be a good way to show our community that our house of worship is a place that they can relate to,” he said.

The new location approvals are contingent upon certification of the mosque’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Election Clerk Supervisor Regina Schachtele told Township Clerk Ann Marie McCarthy in an email.

The township has a total of 51 voting districts and 16 polling locations.