Election 2011: In-Person Turnout Slow, Steady

With less than two hours to go before polls would close Tuesday, La Cañada residents trickled in to poll locations to cast their vote for two seats on the school district's governing board. 

Poll worker Christa Clark perked up whenever another set of feet shuffled through the doors at

"In general, it's been kind of slow, but we've had a lot of people walk in their mail-in ballot to save the 44 cents,'' she said.

None of the voters approached outside the polling places would talk about who they voted for or why. Running in the election for La Cañada Unified School District's governing board are .

Across the street, just a few blocks west, a smattering of voters lined up to cast their ballots at . The night's brisk air mixed with opened bay doors left the poll workers wrapped in blankets or bundled in jackets and gloves.

By 6 p.m. Station 19 saw 84 voters, inspector Sue Barry said, noting that particular precinct includes 30 percent of people who cast votes via absentee ballot. 

The only problem her precinct encountered -- minus the chilly air -- was some confusion with boundaries. The lines shifted this election, she said, and people who live on Jarvis Avenue, for example, in the hills north of Foothill Boulevard usually vote at Station 19. But for this election they were relocated to Briggs Avenue, which is a couple of miles farther west.

"So we actually had a lot of people fill out provisional ballots here, rather than drive there and vote,'' she said.

Both the Lutheran Church and Station 19 offered curbside voting for the disabled. Another aid for voters was a machine that translated the ballot into six languages for people who are not English proficient.

Not that anyone had used them by 6 p.m.

"I've been here since 6 a.m. and I'll be here until 9:30 p.m., so there's still time,'' Clark said, adding polls close at 8 p.m., but there's always clean-up work to do.

Fifteen hours sitting? Why do it?

"It's a good way to help the community and meet people,'' interjected fellow poll worker Hilda Marshanian.

"Yeah, and I have a political science degree, so I'm glad I'm using it for something,'' joked Clark.