PRECINCT OFFICER TO OPEN HOME AS POLLING SITE.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

She's worked nine presidential elections starting with Kennedy vs. Nixon in 1960, counted hundreds of ballots and inspected dozens of voting booths.

Now as the Nov. 5 general election approaches, Saugus resident Eileen Keating is ready to open her home again as a polling place.

``It's a fun way of seeing our neighbors,'' she said. ``Usually everybody is working and doing their thing.''

For the past 36 years, Keating has worked the polls. First, it was with her mother, as a spirited 24-year-old who stayed up all night to count ballots by hand; now she's a 59-year-old grandmother who runs a polling place out of her living room with her husband, Richard.

Now the Los Angeles County registrar is seeking nearly 30,000 precinct officers like Keating to staff 5,700 polling places throughout the county.

Workers must be registered voters who live in Los Angeles County. Precinct officers can earn between $45 and $60, depending on their job assignment. They can make an additional $25 if their home or business is used as a polling place.

Training is required for precinct inspectors who must take a two-hour class, which is offered in 90 locations throughout the county.

As a precinct inspector, Keating inspects voting booths and election materials to ensure she has enough ballots for everyone in her area. She also acts as a troubleshooter if problems arise.

``The buck stops here,'' she said, laughing.

Keating said she enjoys opening her home to her neighbors and friends, who sometimes inspect a new room addition or her husband's latest handicraft. (Two years ago, Richard Keating made two full-size wooden carousel horses that he keeps in the house).

``It's comfortable for us and comfortable for voters who come in,'' she said. ``It gives them a very homey feeling.''

Richard Keating, a retired Los Angeles City firefighter, also helps poll workers feel at home by cooking breakfast and dinner. In the past, he has prepared corned beef and cabbage, stuffed bell peppers and roast beef.

Poll workers have such a good time at the Keating household that they request to work with the couple. With the exception of the 1976 election, when the Keatings moved to Santa Clarita, Eileen has worked every major election since 1960.

During that time, she has seen changes in balloting technology. When John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon ran for office, poll workers counted the ballots by hand.

``That was an eye-opener,'' Keating said. ``They didn't have computer machines for voting. We didn't finish until the next morning.''

Now Keating and a crew of four poll workers close the polls at 8 p.m. and finish counting the ballots within an hour. She also believes voters have become more sophisticated since she started staffing polling booths.

``It was funny how people voted,'' she said, noting they often would vote for one proposition while rejecting its companion. ``It was almost like they saw it as a game.''

Now ``it seems people are more conscious of it because they know propositions are coming out of their pockets,'' she said.

And while voters are becoming more aware of issues, they also are turning out to the polls in fewer numbers.

``I think it's just apathy,'' Keating said, trying to explain the low voter turnout of recent years. ``They figure their votes don't count, so they don't want to vote.''

But Keating hopes to change that attitude among the next generation of voters. She gives children sample ballots to fill out while their parents vote.

``It gives them the feeling they're voting too,'' she said. ``It prepares kids so when they become 18 they will make an effort to vote.''

For information on how to become a precinct officer, call the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk at [phone].