Democracy Supplants Cars on Election Day : Voting: When it comes to casting the ballot, some citizens really ‘exercise’ their franchise. They clean out the garage.

Margaret Kaschube, Suzanne Kaech and Laura Watson are strangers who share a yearly ritual: the weekend before an election day, they each clean out their garages.

And about 1,200 other people in the county also choose to spruce up their garages around the same time.

Cleaning fetishes? They wouldn’t say so. Coincidence? Hardly.

“I’d like to think that we’re doing all this cleaning to get ready for an important day,” said Kaschube of Buena Park as she opened her garage door to reveal a room full of tool boxes and scattered electrical equipment. “All these things will have to be covered by Tuesday--it’s going to be a big election and we’re expecting a lot of people and I don’t want them to think this is not official looking.”

Kaschube, Kaech and Watson are homeowners who turn their garages into official voting places. There are 1,853 in the county and they also include schools, community buildings and fire stations. The three women work as precinct inspectors, spending the day assisting voters, providing instructions and making sure the voting day glides smoothly in their community.

These residents who allow hundreds of people--some of whom are strangers--onto their property are the force behind a successful election process, voting officials said. Without them, the county registrar of voters office would have to scramble for additional polling places, a Herculean task, as these garages make up about two-thirds of the county voting facilities.

Helping the inspectors are the clerks. There are three at every polling location. They, too, are volunteers. But for these inspectors and clerks, the actual voting process as we know it would be next to impossible, the registrar’s office said, as there are about 7,500 of them who staff the polls in Orange County.

The volunteers all receive stipends for their time, which can last as long as 16 hours on election day. Clerks receive $40. Inspectors get $50 for their time and $35 for the use of their garage.

“Forty and fifty dollars for 16 hours of work cannot be called ‘pay’,” said Deanna Werelius, a precinct section supervisor with the Registrar’s office. “I’d like to call them honorariums.”

The volunteers are recruited by the registrar’s office, and for many, the service becomes a lifetime civic commitment.

Take Kaech of Mission Viejo. For as long as Kaech could remember, her parents had been guiding countless voters who lined their driveway every election day. When they quit 16 years ago, Kaech took over the responsibility, volunteered her garage and became her precinct’s polling inspector. Today, Kaech expects about 600 voters.

“We look forward to doing this every year and consider it a part of our lives,” said Kaech, 52, as she sifted through a box overflowing with ballots and other voting staples, getting ready to stack them up in her garage. “It’s a chance to get to know our neighbors all over again, or for the first time if they’re new to the area.”

The work of these volunteers is by no means physically grueling, but it is tiring as preparation starts days before an election. The normally dusty garage has to be swept, rusty tool boxes have to be pushed back and everything else that’s obtrusive must be covered. Cardboard boxes have to be specially constructed into polling booths, and all voting and instruction signs must be posted conspicuously. Then, on election day, all volunteers have to be at the voting table by 6:30 a.m. and remain until after 8 p.m., when the polls close. Some stay hours beyond that to count the number of voters.

For all the hard work, these volunteers say they would do it free--something they’re practically doing as they make considerably less than minimum wage. Why? Call it patriotism, some said, while others talked of “giving something back” to the community.

“You feel like you’re doing something worthwhile,” said Laura Watson, 58, of Orange as she hooked a black plastic curtain on a polling stall. “Plus, around here, it’s like having a reunion on election day.”

Watson has volunteered her garage for more than 25 years now, and every year, she said, she looks forward to seeing her neighbors come out en masse.

Working with her for about 15 years has been Louise Shields, 63, a neighbor, who also said she looks forward to seeing her neighbors at least for a moment.

“Some you see every year, but the ones I especially like are the first time voters,” Shield said as she posted instructions on a board. “You watch them grow up and you witness their excitement as they cast their first vote, and you get excited too. That’s what brings me back.”

As involving as they are, under no circumstances are these volunteers to discuss politics, candidates, or issues with the voters.

“We’re here for them the whole day, from sunrise to sunset, to answer their questions or show them how the ballots work and things like that,” said Suzanne Kaech. “We’re here to work hard for our community; we’re not here to sway their decisions.”