Inside the voting trailer, Sandra Navarre keeps the voters in order and the secretary of state handbook by her side.

“We take our job very seriously,” said Navarre, 52, who serves as the commissioner-in-charge of the polling place for Eastover - the predominantly black gated community known for its million-dollar homes in New Orleans East.

Directing a voter to the correct voting booth, she smiled and said, “Just to avoid any confusion.”

The voter smiled in return, vanished behind the curtains of the booth and popped out 30 seconds later.

Along with three commissioners from other parishes, Navarre directed the growing stream of displaced voters as they arrived at the polls.

Navarre, a registered nurse, has served as a poll worker for more than 20 years.

She is a life-long resident of St. Tammany Parish, but has been working with Orleans Parish for the past month. As commissioner-in-chief, she receives $150 plus an additional $100 for working in a different parish.

“Typically I've only done St. Tammany but this is my second time working in Orleans,” Navarre said.

She quickly points out that St. Tammany Parish, 35 miles east, is very different from Orleans Parish. It is not the 150-square-foot room inside a white double-wide trailer, plopped in the middle of a gutted country club.

“We're very by the book and they are relaxed with going by the regulations,” she said. After displaying the official handbook that is an informational packet for elections, Navarre said, “they just don't follow the rules.”

As for working in the double-wide, Navarre said the conditions are inexcusable. “We don't have a restroom and the air-conditioned system is on the brinks.”

An electronic fan was set up near the booths to ease the heat that was expected to continue to rise throughout the day.

The tiny space quickly became crowded with voters from surrounding communities – Barrington and McKendall Estates – some returning for the first time since they evacuated, reuniting with neighbors. A few voters checked with one of the commissioners responsible for verifying that they were at the correct site and then chatted with friends.

Noticing the reunion of neighbors and the line growing longer, Navarre announced, “Excuse me, if you have already checked in please go in and vote.”