Vince Guerrieri was convinced the California Recall couldn't get any stranger. He notes how wrong he was.
By Vince Guerrieri
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Just when you thought the California recall couldn’t get any weirder…
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (the same people who brought you the ruling that “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance) halted the recall of Gov. Gray Davis, originally set for Oct. 7. The court ruled that punch-card ballots could lead to disenfranchisement, citing the 2000 presidential election ruling that stopped the recount.
So, to recap, a Supreme Court ruling that was used to halt a recount and give a presidential election to a Republican, has stopped another power grab by the Republicans. Ain’t karma great?
The court suggested that the election be held during the state’s March primary next year, which is also a presidential primary year. So theoretically, a registered Democrat could walk into a voting booth next March and see 10 candidates for president and 135 candidates for governor.
That type of choice is exactly what American politics needs, but the machinations that led to the gubernatorial recall is just the type of dirty dealing that makes young people today (and more than a few old people) sick of politics.
It takes 12 percent of the people who voted in the last governor’s election to put a recall on the ballot. In this case, 897,158 registered voters (not necessarily people who voted in the last election) could put the recall on the ballot. California has nearly 34 million residents. Less than 3 percent of California residents signed a petition supporting the expenditure of more than $50 million for a recall called for by people who are pissed off about a $35 billion deficit! So let’s spend more money to vote out the governor!
The recall was the pet project of U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, who started it within weeks of Gray Davis being sworn in for his second term as governor. Issa spent $1.7 million to gather enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot, and then announced – surprise! – that he was going to run for governor in the recall election!
But Issa dropped out of the race, as did Bill Simon, who lost last year to Davis, and former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth, all Republicans. They’re clearing the way for Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is emerging as the front-runner among Republicans.
Basically, anyone with 65 signatures and $3,500 could get their name on the ballot for the recall election, whenever the hell that’ll be. And more than 250 candidates tried. A total of 135 candidates will appear on the ballot.
Some people suggest that there are too many choices for governor. I think there are enough. There are current more varieties of Coca-Cola on the market than I can count on my hands. But every spring and every November, we’re expected to choose between a Democrat or a Republican. Occasionally, there’s an independent, but they’re not taken seriously enough by enough people to pose a real threat. So with 135 candidates, the American Dream that anyone can grow up and be elected to office is a little closer to reality.
But this is all academic now, since the election might not be held until next year. It’s also weird enough to sell tickets.
Hey, now there’s a way to clear up the state debt! Embrace it as the spectator sport that it is, and sell tickets! Peter Ueberroth could do it. He’s got some time on his hands now!