A detailed
summary of the election of film star Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of
California, in the most high-profile recall campaign seen in any democracy. The
document gives an overview of the recall mechanism in California and of the campaign to oust
Governor Gray Davis.
A high-profile
recall case involving a prominent figure has increased public exposure to the
recall mechanism. In California,
the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor after a successful recall
campaign to oust Governor Gray Davis. Gray Davis was re-elected Governor of
California in November 2002. However, within less than a year he had been
ousted from his post and replaced by a man previously more famous for his
acting and his muscles. So how did it come to be hasta la vista for Governor
Davis in such a short space of time?
The
recall mechanism in California
History
Like many
other US
states, Californian democracy provides for the use of the recall mechanism.
Adopted into the Californian constitution in 1911, the recall mechanism is a
process by which the electorate can seek the removal of elected public
officials before the end of their terms of office. Prior to 2003, the recall mechanism
had been used in California
on numerous occasions. Several local government officials have been recalled,
and four state legislators have been recalled, in 1913, 1914 and 1995 (twice).
However, whilst previous state Governors have faced some level of recall
attempt in the last 30 years, Governor Davis was the first Governor to face a
recall election.
Launching
a recall initiative
To launch a
recall initiative, proponents are required to file a notice of intention with
the California Secretary of State's Office. The notice must include a statement
explaining in no more than 200 words why the proponents are seeking a recall,
and must give the names, signatures and addresses of either a minimum of 10
people or the number of people required to have signed the nomination of the
officer who is subject to the recall, whichever is the greatest. Proponents of
the recall must be registered voters within the electoral jurisdiction of the
officer they seek to recall. Within a week of the notice being filed, the
officer in question is given the opportunity to make a 200 word statement in
response to the initiative.
Circulating
the petition
Once the
notice has been certified by the Secretary of State, proponents are required to
collect a number of signatures equivalent to 12% of the votes cast for the
officer the last time the office was on the ballot. Signatures must be
collected within 160 days, and the petition must be circulated in at least five
Californian counties. In the 2003 recall, the recall petition was certified for
circulation on 25 March 2003, giving proponents until 2 September 2003 to
collect 897,158 signatures. Signatures are only deemed to be valid if they are
from voters registered in the electoral jurisdiction of the officer who is the
subject of the recall; similarly, only such registered voters are qualified to
circulate the recall petition.
Reporting
and verifying petition signatures
Proponents
of the recall are required to file the petition with the election official in
each county in which the petition is circulated. Whilst the petition is being
circulated, county election officials are required to report to the Secretary
of State on the progress of the petition; the first report must be submitted
within 30 days of the recall being initiated, and every 30 days thereafter. The
report must advise on the number of signatures collected in the most recent 30
day period, the total cumulative number of signatures collected, and the total
number of valid signatures collected. County election officials are not
required to begin verifying signatures for validity until 10% of the total
number of signatures required have been collected. Once the verification
process begins, a random sample of signatures must be checked. Where more than
500 signatures are reported at any one time, either 3% of signatures submitted
or 500 signatures must be checked, whichever is the smallest.
The
recall election
Once the
Secretary of State certifies that the petition has qualified, the Lieutenant
Governor is required by the California Constitution to set the date of the
recall election. The election must be held in the period between 60-80 days
after the date on which the Secretary of State certified that the petition
qualified, unless there is a state-wide election within 180 days of that date
(in which case the Lieutenant Governor has the option to hold the recall
election on the same day).
In California, the recall
and the vote for a successor to replace the officer should the recall succeed
are included on the same ballot. The officer facing recall is not entitled to
stand as a candidate for re-election. Therefore, if in the first vote the
incumbent officer receives the support of more than 50% of the electorate, the
recall is defeated and the second vote is irrelevant. However, if a majority
vote to recall the officer, the candidate who receives most votes is elected.
At the 2003 recall election, there were also two state wide initiatives on the
ballot. This differs from other US
states and other countries, where once a petition has qualified, a separate
yes/no vote on whether or not to recall the officer will be held before a vote
on a successor is held. Critics of the Californian process argue that this
causes confusion for voters. In addition, it also raises the possibility that
if an officer is recalled, his successor could be elected with a less
legitimate democratic mandate: for example, if an officer is narrowly recalled
on a vote of 51% in favour, 49% against, but the winning candidate on the
second vote receives the support of 37% of voters, the new Governor arguably
has the support of 12% fewer voters.
The 2003
recall campaign
The case
against Gray
The
campaign against Gray Davis was initially launched by an organisation called
the People's Advocate, an anti-tax organisation headed by Ted Costa, the
official proponent of the recall effort. The main charge against Gray was that
he had mismanaged the Californian economy, creating a budget deficit of over
USD 30 billion and the need for large tax increases. The efforts of the
People's Advocate were supported by a number of Republican Party activists and
by other California
political parties such as the Libertarian Party and the American Independent
Party. In May, the recall campaign was boosted when Republican Congressman
Darrel Issa launched his own recall effort, Rescue California, backed by significant funding
and the expertise of political strategists. Rescue California was instrumental in collecting
signatures for the recall petition, organising its efforts on a professional
basis and claiming to have collected around 70% of the valid signatures
submitted. Opponents of the recall included labour leaders and public sector
employees, and were led by an organisation called Taxpayers Against the Recall.
They argued that using the initiative would set an expensive precedent, and
that recall should only be used in the case of abuse of office or corruption.
The
announcement of the election
The recall
petition was certified for petition on 25 March 2003. By the middle of July,
recall proponents claimed to have gathered 1.6 million signatures, well in
excess of the 897,158 needed to secure the recall ballot. On July 23, Secretary
of State Kevin Shelley verified that 1,356,408 of the signatures were valid.
The following day, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante announced that the
recall ballot would be held on October 7.
Candidates
for the election
One notable
feature of the 2003 recall election was the large number of candidates who
stood for election. Nomination procedures for a recall election are required by
the constitution to be virtually the same as for a normal election to the
office of Governor (except that papers have to be filed no less than 59 days
before the date of the recall election). Candidates at the 2003 recall were
therefore required to collect 65 nomination signatures and pay a USD 3,500 fee
(or submit USD 10,000 in lieu of the fee). The low threshold for nominations
meant that 135 individuals stood as replacement candidates, thus ensuring an
extremely long ballot for voters to consider.
The
Republican and Democrat parties
The most
prominent of the candidates was undoubtedly Arnold Schwarzenegger, film actor
and husband of a member of America's
most famous political dynasty, Maria
Shriver, niece of assassinated President John F Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy.
Following considerable speculation about whether he would join the race to
succeed Gray Davis, Schwarzenegger, a Republican, used an appearance on the
Tonight Show on 6 August to announce his candidacy. His entry into the race
prompted other high-profile Republican candidates to drop out of the race to be
Gray's successor. The Democrats faced a more difficult position in choosing
whether or not to stand a replacement candidate. On the one hand, their main
aim was to win the recall ballot and defeat the recall proposition. It was
argued that achieving this result would be helped by the presentation of a
united front, with no Democratic candidates for successor. However, an
alternative argument was formulated along the lines that, should the recall
succeed, it was necessary to have a Democratic candidate on the ballot as a
potential successor. The debate was settled when, on August 7, Cruz Bustamante
entered the race to offer a prominent Democratic candidacy.
The
campaign controls
Different
controls applied to the recall element of the campaign, and the campaign to
promote replacement candidates. The issue of recall is treated by campaign
finance law in California
as equivalent to a ballot measure, whilst the question of a successor is
treated in accordance with controls on normal candidate elections. In practice,
this meant that whilst Governor Davis was not subject to any contribution
limits on the amount of money he could accept in trying to defeat the recall
measure, replacement candidates were subject to contribution limits of USD
21,200 and an expenditure limit of USD 10,624,000.
The
outcome of the recall process
At the
election on October 7, the measure to recall the Governor was passed by a vote of
55.4% against a no vote of 44.6%. Of the replacement candidates, Arnold
Schwarzenegger achieved 48.6% of the vote (more than had supported Davis), his nearest rival
Crus Bustamante achieving 31.5%. Governor Gray Davis was duly recalled, and
Governor-elect Schwarzenegger sworn in on 17 November. The total cost of
running the recall election, including providing voters with a state voter
information guide, was estimated to be just under USD 70 million.
