REDISTRICTING DETOUR - ONE IN FIVE STATE REGISTERED VOTERS WAS ASSIGNED TO NEW POLLING PLACE

Truong Phuoc Khanh
San Jose Mercury News (CA)
March 7, 2002

Because of redistricting, about one in five registered voters in California was assigned to a different polling place for Tuesday's primary election.

Jeff Schwamberger's was 19 miles away.

''I clocked it; it was a 37.5-mile round trip. It took me an hour and 10 minutes to get there and back,'' said Schwamberger, 51, who lives in La Honda and voted in Portola Valley.

La Honda lies in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, boasting a grocery store, a little post office, two churches and a bar. On the map, the distance between La Honda and Portola Valley might look like six miles, Schwamberger said. But, he said, ''There is a smallish mountain in between.''

''The obstacle they put before voters,'' Schwamberger said, ''is literally a smallish mountain.''

In San Mateo County, approximately 92,000 voters had new polling places, said David Tom, the county elections manager. But for most, the change was not significant, he said.

Every 10 years, the Legislature redraws district lines for the Assembly, Senate and Congress, adjusting for new census population figures.

Based on new lines, local counties tweak voting precincts so they contain from 250 to 1,000 people, which is California's guideline.

What happened to Schwamberger was unfortunate, Tom said.

''We're going to look at the situation as soon as this election is over,'' Tom said. ''I am going to resolve it; he is not going to have to do it again.''

Schwamberger's new precinct is made up of 565 voters, but those voters are spread out over a very large area, because the region is so rural, Tom said.

Schwamberger, who lives at 9150 Alpine Road, was assigned to the polling place at the Alpine Tennis Club in Portola Valley, even though the La Honda fire station -- where Schwamberger has gone in the past -- is about three miles from his home.

''I had to drive past it on my way to the polling place,'' said Schwamberger, a Web content developer.

William Johnson, at 9699 Alpine Road, also was assigned to the tennis club.

''It's insane,'' Johnson said. ''I've lived here 20 years, and I've always been able to vote at the fire department.''

About 20 percent of voters saw their polling place change this election, said Alfie Charles, a spokesman for the secretary of state.

''But it's extremely rare for someone to have to go beyond their neighborhood to cast a ballot,'' Charles said.

The standards for precincts, he said, usually produce ''fairly compact precincts that allow voters to vote closest to their home.''