EASY-ACCESS VOTING : GARAGE DOES DUTY AS POLLING PLACE.Byline: Enrique Enrique (IPA [en'ɾike]) is the Spanish form of the name Henry. As a given name, it ranked 298 out of 1219 for males of all ages in the 1990 U.S. Census. Rivero Daily News Staff Writer Carol Longren thought she was the butt BUTT. A measure of capacity, equal to one hundred and eight gallons. See Measure. of a joke when an elections official called her 20 years ago to ask if the county could use her Woodland Hills home as a polling place. ``I was amazed a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. they called me - before that I'd I'd 1. Contraction of I had. 2. Contraction of I would. I'd I had or I would I'd have ~would never thought about it,'' she said of that day in 1976. ``I thought this is a practical joke, I was waiting for the person who made the call to snicker and admit to it.'' She eventually agreed, and many Election Days since - even after moving to her Westlake Village neighborhood 18 years ago - she has offered up her garage to voters as a convenient place to cast their ballots. ``I thought, `Why not?' '' she said Tuesday, sitting with other polling workers amid a handful of election booths inside her neatly swept garage. ``The kids were small and it's something you can do at home and still be with the kids.'' Longren's garage was one of only three home-based polling places in Ventura County in Tuesday's primary election. In recent years, 200 to 300 voters typically have trooped through her Valecroft Avenue garage on Election Day. ``They don't come early in the morning like they would in Woodland Hills, it's a different pattern here,'' Longren said. ``You can vote at 7 a.m. over there and still get to work on time if you work downtown. You can't do that here.'' Most elections run smoothly, although she's had a few surprises. One year a voter VOTER. One entitled to a vote; an elector. walked into her garage, picked up his ballot and promptly walked out. Knowing that elections officials maintain a strict count of used, unused and even spoiled ballots, Longren dashed dash 1 v. dashed, dash·ing, dash·es v.tr. 1. To break or smash by striking violently. 2. To hurl, knock, or thrust with sudden violence. 3. out after the man. She found him near the curb posing for pictures. ``It turns out he was an immigrant from somewhere and had become a citizen and was the first one in his family to vote,'' she said. She still remembers how the scene moved her. ``It was a great feeling - I stood there and posed for pictures handing him the ballot,'' she said. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--Color) Bill Shaw Bill Shaw, former high-paid Time Warner executive. Shaw was at one time the President of TBS Sports. Bill Shaw, Dr. Professor of Physical Oceanography at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Known for his tough yet tactical approach towards teaching, Dr. turns in his ballot after vo ting ting n. A single light metallic sound, as of a small bell. intr.v. tinged , ting·ing, tings To give forth a light metallic sound. Tuesday in Carol Longren's garage. Longren has opened up her home for polling since 1976. Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News (2--Color) Marlene Krishel of Westlake Village takes advantage of her neighborhood polling station on Valecroft Avenue. |
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