Getting the Vote In

A voter with two last names might confound most precinct officials, but for seasoned poll pros like Frank and Shirley Bruno, it’s just a matter of remembering the regulars.

It has been years since the woman with two last names first walked into the Brunos’ family room-turned-polling place, first giving one half of her hyphenated last name, then the other.

The Brunos couldn’t find her. Had she come to the wrong location--or failed to register?

Finally, under questioning from Shirley Bruno, the mystery was solved. The woman’s hyphenated name was located on the voter rolls and etched in the Brunos’ memory.

“Now we know, so when she comes in, we say, ‘Here comes two last names,’ and then we mark her off the list,” Shirley Bruno said.

The Brunos’ home is one of 4,856 voting locations in the county for today’s primary, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office.

City Clerk Wilma Miller said the Brunos have one of the few home polling places in San Fernando. Most of the city’s polling places are at schools or parks, she said.

After more than 20 years of working at the polls, the Brunos know almost half the people who show up to vote either by name or face. That makes today’s election a little like a block party where they will see old friends and meet new neighbors.

Others in the Valley also have been busy gearing up for today’s primary.

Although she’s a veteran precinct worker, Farhana Sahibzada has turned her Woodland Hills cafe, Cinnamon Stix, into a polling place for the first time.

Sahibzada said she designed a dual-functioning floor plan for the coffee shop on her computer, complete with five voting booths and red, white and blue decorations, so the cafe could be open and not interfere with voter traffic.

“I’ve been working on this for a while and rearranging furniture,” Sahibzada said. “But of course, tomorrow will be the test.”

The Brunos’ polling place passed the test long ago.

For more than 10 years, their modest, one-story home on Lazard Street has been the voting site for the 7th Precinct. Residents living in the 8th Precinct also will be voting at the Brunos’ home, making 900 voters in all.

“We’ll probably get about half that, which is pretty darn good,” Shirley Bruno said.

Because she knows most of the voters, Shirley Bruno said she can keep track of the “no-shows.” And if she sees a spouse or friend of a “no-show,” she encourages them to get the absent voter to the polls.

The Brunos also know what time most voters will show up.

Carl Phillips, 70, who lives down the street, said he’s an early bird voter, though he’s not one to be waiting at the door at 7 a.m.

“I usually show up in the morning, but not too early,” he said.

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The Brunos spent most of Monday turning their family room into a polling place, with six booths, a registration table and a mock voting station for children. They also set up signs and lined the inside of their garage with old cardboard voting booths to create a walkway to the family room.

Most important of all, they’ve stocked the candy basket, which is very popular with voters. Shirley Bruno joked that it’s what keeps voters coming back for each election.

“We’ve got it down to a science now,” she said. “We know just how long it takes and what we have to do.”

Although the Brunos do all the set-up themselves, Frank Bruno, 70, said he doesn’t mind.

“Someone has to do it, and we kind of enjoy it,” Bruno said. “It’s something different.”

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Election Day

Voters will go to the polls today to vote in California’s first-ever blanket primary, in which voters will select among candidaes from all parties and thus confront a vast array of choices--17 for governor alone. It is too late to mail absentee ballots, but they may be hand-delivered to local polling places before 8 p.m. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Information on polling places is available from the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office at (562) 466-1323.

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So, You Want to Be a Precinct Worker?

If you are interested in becoming a precinct worker for the next election, please call the Registrar-Recorder/

County Clerk polls office at (562) 466-1373.

The only requirement is that you are a registered voter. The office does recommend new precinct workers take a 90-minute training class.

If you want to be a voting inspector, you must be a registered voter, have a vehicle available and must attend a 90-minute training class the first time and then a 60-minute training class each time after that.

Pay for precinct workers is: $45 (four to six weeks after election).

Pay for inspectors is: $55, plus $5 for taking the class.

Information from the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office.