REQUESTS FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS UP 10% FROM '96 IN L.A.

Byline: Lee Condon Staff Writer

Requests for absentee ballots for the March 7 primary are up nearly 10 percent from the last presidential primary in 1996, the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder said Tuesday, a week before the application deadline.

While the numbers are up since the most recent presidential primary, they are down from the 1998 gubernatorial primary, when Al Checchi launched a massive absentee voter campaign to boost his chances of securing the Democratic nomination.

Conny McCormack, the county registrar-recorder and county clerk, said that typically 18 percent to 20 percent of voters in Los Angeles County use absentee ballots. Although other counties have absentee voting rates of higher than 30 percent, McCormack said she believes the number is leveling out.

Many absentee voters make a habit of the practice, McCormack said.

``We know people get addicted to that behavior. It becomes their standard for voting,'' she said.

While the Checchi effort dominated the absentee spike in 1998, McCormack said no single candidate is pushing up the numbers this year.

``It's more the political parties, but you don't know which candidates they are doing it for,'' McCormack said.

Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican political consultant based in Los Angeles, said he believes excitement about the California presidential primary is driving the numbers up. Since the state moved its primary to an earlier date, Californians will now have real influence on the ultimate choice of nominees.

``In 1996, everybody knew (before the California primary) that Bob Dole was going to be the Republican and that Bill Clinton would be the Democrat,'' Hoffenblum said.

The increase in absentee voting is part of a 20-year trend in California.

``It continues to go up every cycle,'' said Bob Mulholland, campaign adviser for the California Democratic Party. ``In some counties it's up to well over 30 to 35 percent of the vote.''

Steve Gray-Barkan, a campaign consultant to local candidates for the state Legislature and Congress, said several clients have sent out absentee voter applications as part of their campaign mail but have not launched overly aggressive efforts.

``Unless you figure out where you have a natural early advantage, it doesn't make sense,'' said Gray-Barkan, citing the costs of mailing out absentee applications.

Democrat Paul Krekorian, a lawyer seeking the 43rd District Assembly seat in the Burbank-Glendale area, said he has launched an aggressive absentee voter campaign. Krekorian said it's an important part of his efforts to reach out to new Armenian-American voters. Many new voters are more comfortable voting by mail rather than visiting a polling place, he said.

``It's especially important within the Armenian community. A lot of people who want to vote for me are inexperienced voters,'' Krekorian said. ``It's important to make the voting process as easy as possible for them.''

Last year in Glendale, Councilman Rafi Manoukian ran a very successful absentee voter campaign to win in his first try for elected office. Manoukian, a Democrat, also targeted the Armenian community. Manoukian is now leading what organizers bill as a nonpartisan voter registration drive in the Armenian community.

Dario Frommer, who is competing with Krekorian for the Democratic nomination in the 43rd District, has also been mailing out absentee voter applications.

``Voters in the district who have voted absentee in the past have all received an application from us,'' said David Rolf, a consultant for Frommer. ``We're competing for every segment of the vote.''

Voters can request an absentee ballot in one of three ways:

--By filling out a vote-by-mail application on the cover of the sample ballot booklet sent to each registered voter;

--By sending a letter to the Office of the Registrar/Recorder-County Clerk, Absent Voter Section, P.O. Box 30450, Los Angeles, CA. 90030-0450.

--By going in person to the registrar's office in Norwalk, 12400 Imperial Highway, in Room 3002 on the third floor.

Absentee ballots cannot be requested by phone because a signature is required to validate the request.

While Tuesday will be the regular deadline for an absentee ballot request, voters who cite emergency circumstances can make requests from March 1 through Election Day. Information is available from the Absent Voter Section at [phone]. Those requiring assistance in another language should call [phone].

If voters have not received their absentee ballot a week after sending in an application, they should call [phone].

To be counted in the election, ballots must be received at the registrar's office or taken to a polling place no later than March 7.