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Campaigns Continue in Delayed Calif. Recall

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

California Gov. Gray Davis planned to continue his tour Tuesday with national Democrats, campaigning with presidential candidate Sen. Bob Graham of Florida and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock are to seek the blessing of fellow Republican Peter Ueberroth, who dropped out of the running last week.

Candidates in California's recall election are moving ahead in their courting of voters after a judicial panel postponed the ballot, which could now be more than five months away.

"I thought I was running a sprint, and it looks like I may have to run a marathon," said Steve Smith, an adviser to Gov. Gray Davis, the target of the recall. "And I don't even like running that much."

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that California's planned use of punch-card ballots - the same kind used in the contested 2000 presidential election - would disenfranchise thousands of Californians.

The court did not set a new date for the recall, but backed a suggestion from the American Civil Liberties Union that balloting be held during the March 2 presidential primary.

One of the groups behind the effort to yank Davis from office planned to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to keep the recall date Oct. 7. The circuit court's decision was stayed for a week to allow for such appeals.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the only major Democrat vying to succeed Davis if he is recalled, and Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to continue campaigning as the courts decide when to hold the election.

Independent candidate Arianna Huffington praised the decision, calling voter disenfranchisement "the dirty little secret of American politics." McClintock called it an "outrageous decision" by a court that is the "laughingstock" of the federal judiciary because it is the nation's most-reversed federal appeals court.

Sean Walsh, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, said the decision threatened to rob voters who had signed recall petitions. "With this ruling, you risk disenfranchising voters. Does this serve the interests of democracy or the general public?"

The panel repeatedly referred to Bush v. Gore - the case that decided the 2000 presidential election - as its primary rationale. In that case, the Supreme Court stopped Florida's recount on the grounds that all votes were not being treated equally.

The appeals court unanimously ruled it is unacceptable that six California counties would be using outdated punch-card ballots. Those counties are already under court order to replace punch cards with more modern systems such as touch-screen ballots by the March primary.

The six counties include the state's most populous, Los Angeles, as well as Sacramento and San Diego counties. Altogether they contained 44 percent of California's registered voters during the 2000 election.

Davis would probably benefit the most from the ruling if the election were held in March, because the presidential primary is expected to bring a large number of Democrats to the polls. It could also give Davis more time to address the state's budget crisis.

Observers say a potential postponement could have the sharpest impact on McClintock, who has shown momentum in the polls in recent weeks. McClintock has raised much less money than the other major candidates and would likely lose the high level of media coverage that has largely buoyed his candidacy.

"The political impact of the ruling is the law of unintended consequences," said Republican analyst Allan Hoffenblum. "It could mandate opening up the filing process again, so we'll have more candidates. People who dropped out could drop back in. Tom McClintock would be seriously impacted."

The California official responsible for elections, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, told county election officials to prepare for the Oct. 7 election and said he would announce Tuesday whether he would ask the entire appeals court to review the ruling or appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

Voters reacted with mixed feelings about the decision.

"I don't like things when they are rushed. It's ridiculous, the wide field of candidates, the short election," said Vana Meydag, 50, of Whittier. "Maybe postponing is a good thing to give people time to reflect on what's going on."

Scott Fox, 47, of San Diego, was insulted. "I think the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has just told us that the last 25 years of elections are inadequate to support the election of any candidates," he said.

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On the Net:

The decision: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov

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