GARAGE-BASED POLLING PLACE CARRIES ON IN SIMI VALLEY; NEIGHBORHOOD DEMOCRACY.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

Two plastic wise men from a lawn-size Christmas Nativity scene stare down at the voting booths below, watching as voters cast their ballots among the power tools and bicycles in one of the last remaining residential polling places in Ventura County.

For most voters, the garage-based polling place is a dying institution in the same class as the drive-in movie: a nostalgic reminder of days gone by.

``Most people don't want the hassle of having their house turned over to strangers for 13 hours at a time,'' said Mark Archibald, one of four volunteers at the home of Mary and Nolan Todd on East Wilmot Street. ``There are very few people left with that kind of civic responsibility.''

But among more than 780 voters who were registered to cast their ballots at the Todds' home Tuesday, this is the only polling option many know.

``I don't know how else they do it,'' said Robert Glaum, wanting no choice but a neighbor's home. ``I think this is nice. And it's convenient for me. I'm only three houses down from here.''

But there are other ways.

Schools and churches have replaced houses as the most-used polling places, chosen by election officials as a reliable venue available for a $25 fee.

At Atherwood Elementary School in Simi Valley, teachers trooped their students into the auditorium to watch this part of the governmental process as part of a civics lesson.

Nolan Todd said his four daughters got similar lessons from a polling place at their own home.

``I guess they learned something about the political process,'' he said. ``It taught them that it was important to speak their minds and get out and vote.''

County voting officials said that only two of the county's 427 polling places are at homes: one at the Todds' home, the other in Camarillo.

Bruce Bradley, assistant registrar of voters, said the county has been moving away from soliciting private homes for the polls since the mid-1980s in response to legislation that required polling places to be accessible to be handicapped.

Nolan Todd said his wife was a volunteer election worker when their home was first used as a polling place more than 30 years ago. Opening their garage to the voters became a habit, he said.

``They just send us a request, and we send it back and say yes. That's all,'' he said. ``We've just been doing it for so many years, and they need someplace to do it. It's not an inconvenience. I've just got to make sure the garage is clean and so on.''

Tracy Saucedo, the county's polling place supervisor, said there used to be many more residential polling places.

``I guess people get tired of doing it,'' she said. ``Typically we don't ask for garages and stuff because they're not considered stable. We try to find a polling place that's consistent, where people can go every year.''

But the Todd home has been a stable polling place, where voters walk from their own homes, chat with their neighbors and cast their ballots at portable, plastic booths.

``Even though they don't know your politics, it's nice because you feel like you're coming out and casting your vote with your neighbors,'' said Laurel Murphy, a six-year area resident.

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4 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Nolan Todd's garage in Simi Valley is one of the few remaining home polling places in Ventura County.

(2--Color) David Nankivell, right, is the 120th voter casting his ballot Tuesday in his neighbor's home garage.

(3-4) (Photo 4 ran in Simi Edition only) Mikey Sugar, 4, helps his mom, Helen Sugar, vote Tuesday at Atherwood Elementary, above. At right, Natalie Campanella , 7, and her second-grade classmates get a firsthand lesson in democracy at the polling station located in the school's auditorium.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Special to the Daily News