POLL WORKERS SEE FUNCTION AS CIVIC DUTY.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer For most people, going to the polls to vote marks the end of their civic duty on Election Day. But for a select few, the call of duty goes well beyond the ballot box. They are the poll workers, who run every election from the board of education for the tiniest one-room school One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. to the U.S. president. ``I believe first to be a good American you should vote,'' said Chuck Yroman, 70, manning the poll Tuesday at a Newhall driving school. ``To be a better American, you should volunteer.'' Recruiting poll workers is challenging, and Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. Ventura counties have taken aggressive steps in recent years to bolster This article is about the pillow called a bolster. For other meanings of the word "bolster", see bolster (disambiguation). A bolster (etymology: Middle English, derived from Old English, and before that the Germanic word bulgstraz their forces. The modest stipend sti·pend n. A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance. [Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin st has increased, and class credits are offered to students who spend the 15-hour shift at the polls. Yroman was one of nearly 200 volunteers in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. working the election tables at 58 precincts pre·cinct n. 1. a. A subdivision or district of a city or town under the jurisdiction of or patrolled by a specific unit of its police force. b. . The workers are trained and assigned by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office to work in homes, businesses, schools, churches or any other location deemed appropriate for a polling place. Each of the 58 precincts in the Santa Clarita Valley has one inspector, a judge and two clerks who man the booths making sure that votes are official and cast legitimately. Lucille Whitmore, 79, an inspector at a polling site at a Newhall church, finds her job rewarding. ``I feel like I'm contributing to the community,'' she said. ``It's my civic duty.'' The Newhall resident has been a volunteer for 10 years after accepting an invitation from a friend to help. ``Once they get your name they don't take it off,'' she said. County officials say that finding volunteers to work during elections can be a challenge and they rely heavily on those who have signed up in the past. ``It's the most difficult job in the election office,'' said Bruce Bradley, assistant registrar See domain name registrar. for Ventura County. ``It's very hard to get people.'' Ventura County officials said that as seniors age or move away, the task of recruiting new volunteers gets even harder. ``Why would anyone do it?'' asked Bradley. ``They don't do it for the money. You have to be very patriotic and very civic-minded.'' Inspectors in Ventura County get paid $73 and clerks get paid $60. Each also get $5 for attending a class. Recently, stipends for the Los Angeles County workers increased. Payments now are $75 for inspectors and $55 for judges and clerks. Workers are paid an additional $25 for attending a two-hour training class. ``We're hoping that with the raised stipend we'll get more workers,'' said Conny McCormack, Registrar of Voters. ``We have much more need for many more workers.'' On Tuesday, Ventura County officials had 130 volunteers manning 43 precincts. In Los Angeles County, more than 4,000 workers worked more than 1,000 polling places. Both counties are trying to recurit younger workers, using the offer of school credit as a lure lure the skin-covered object which runs on a monorail on a Greyhound racing track and which the dogs are schooled to chase. The lure must be kept 30 to 40 ft ahead of the leading dog so that the field is stretched out. . Ninety-nine students in Los Angeles County took the bait bait a preparation containing a palatable food substance such as raw meat, carrot or bran and a pharmaceutical or poisonous substance. The purpose is to introduce the medicament or poison into the unsuspecting animal. this election day. The program has not worked well in Ventura County, where just two students helped out. Beginning this month, employees of Los Angeles County were offered a chance to work the polls pending the approval of their supervisors. A few dozen workers took the option, padding Bits or characters that fill up unused portions of a data structure, such as a field, packet or frame. Typically, padding is done at the end of the structure to fill it up with data, with the padding usually consisting of 1 bits, blank characters or null characters. See null and bit stuffing. the poll worker force. Keith Nicholson, 34, of Newhall said that he volunteers to serve as an example to his kids. ``I believe in voting,'' he said. ``I believe every vote counts. It's a good example for my kids.'' Nicholson is a sales associate at Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box with plans to work in law enforcement, and perhaps run for office himself some day. For now, he enjoys helping others vote. ``It's nice to see my neighbors,'' Nicholson said. ``They see that I'm active. It will look good on my resume when I get into law enforcement. It's not going to get you rich but you're doing you're duty.'' CAPTION(S): 4 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color -- ran in Simi and Conejo edition only) Poll workers are trained and assigned by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office to work in homes, businesses, schools, churches or any other location deemed appropriate for a polling place. (2 -- ran in Simi and Conejo edition only) Voters in this Agoura Hills community cast their ballots in a garage that has been converted for the day into a polling place. (3 -- color -- ran in Conejo edition only) On Election Day in Agoura Hills, Marge Caraplis and her husband, Louis, register before heading to the booths. Lilly Barrett/Special to the Daily News (4 -- color -- ran in SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. edition only) Ryan, 11, gets a peek at democracy in action as his mother, Karen Jameson, fills out her ballot on Election Day morning in Valencia. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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