To Polling Place Workers: We Declare You the Winners

By Bay City News Service

A note to those underappreciated Novato folks who worked on polling places Tuesday:

Thanks for what you do.

However, you probably have a long way to go — decades maybe — before you approach Elisa Kennedy's commitment on Election Day.

Since 1937, the San Francisco resident has figured in almost every election without ever having run for office. She has either hosted an election polling place in her own home or worked at a polling place in nearly every ballot vote during the past 75 years, a time that has spanned 120 elections and 18 presidential contests.

How old is she? Just 96.

In recognition to her longtime service to city elections, on Election Day 2012, Kennedy was to receive the Medallion Award of the National Association of Secretaries of State, from California Secretary of State Debra Bowen. The award was to be bestowed upon Kennedy at a polling place at 1254 40th Ave. in the Sunset District.

"A lot has changed in politics and the world since Elisa first volunteered as a poll worker 75 years ago, but her commitment to democracy and her devotion to her community has remained constant," Bowen said in a statement.

Do you know someone in Novato who has been an Election Day polling place worker for a really long time? Add a comment below.

— Novato Patch's Brent Ainsworth contributed to this report.

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