ABSENTEE BALLOT SURGE EXPECTED.

Byline: David Greenberg Daily News Staff Writer

More than twice as many Ventura County residents are expected to vote by absentee ballot in the June 2 election as in the last primary for countywide offices in June 1994.

County elections officials say they have received 50,818 requests for absentee ballots. They expect that 58,000 of the 391,973 registered voters will have requested them by Tuesday's application deadline.

This is a hefty increase over 1994's election, when 34,449 of the county's 339,356 registered voters asked to vote absentee. Officials said 24,054 people actually voted by absentee ballot in that election.

``The county has a very high percentage because a lot of people work in Los Angeles, especially those from Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks,'' said Bruce Bradley, assistant registrar of voters. ``(The cities) are basically bedroom communities for L.A. If you have to be at work in L.A. by 8 a.m., you better leave before 7 a.m.''

Polling hours are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Four years ago, 113,866 voted in the primary - 33.5 percent of those registered. Elections officials expect 38 to 40 percent to vote in the upcoming elections.

As of May 19, the county elections office has received 50,818 requests for absentee ballot.

State census figures show Thousand Oaks' population grew from 110,391 on Jan. 1, 1994, to about 115,700 last Jan. 1.

During that time, Simi Valley grew from 103,843 to about 106,000, while Camarillo jumped from 56,562 to 60,200 and Moorpark from 27,202 to 29,300.

``(Traffic) got worse everywhere,'' Bradley said. ``You can't get away from it.''

The June 2 ballot includes 85 candidates for statewide office, 22 for county offices and nine statewide ballot questions.

Election officials say that part of the increase in requests for absentee ballots is due to an unprecedented absentee ballot campaign waged by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Al Checchi.

While the strategy of mailing voters request forms is not new, Checchi's campaign is making it one of the primary functions of its staff.

``This is the first one that has been done on that scale,'' Bradley said.

One of Checchi's Democratic opponents, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Torrance, reportedly mailed out 1 million absentee ballot request forms as well.

Campaign workers mail the forms to likely supporters, who then mail the requests back to the candidate. His or her staff then turns them in to the respective county elections offices.

However, in the case of Checchi, a wealthy businessman, the strategy might have backfired to some degree, because his staff is required to deliver the requests to counties within 36 hours of receiving them, the Secretary of State's Office said.

The county office on May 9 received about 2,000 forms postmarked April 23 or 24, according to Bradley.

``The problem is they got so many they couldn't handle them,'' he said.

Bradley predicted, however, that if Checchi wins the primary, absentee balloting will become the necessary cog in all future campaigns.

``They'll attribute (victory) to his absentee vote campaign,'' Bradley said.

The deadline for mail-in requests to arrive in the elections office is Tuesday. Walk-ins may vote with an absentee ballot until the polls close on election day.