A Davis Successor Would Have to Wait

[kskiska]

Certification of Recall Election Outcome Will Take Weeks, Officials Say

If California Gov. Gray Davis is ousted in Tuesday's recall election, his successor will not take office for more than a month.

Though the outcome might be clear on election night or immediately after, California's process of certifying an election takes almost six weeks. Given the complexities of the ballot, which lists 135 candidates, election officials said they expect to use the full time allotment. Once the outcome becomes final and official, the winner will have up to 10 days to be sworn in.

County election officials have 28 days to provide a final count of their ballots. The process, called the canvass, includes a mandatory hand recount of 1 percent of the ballots in each county to make sure that the tabulating equipment worked properly. Ballots on which people made write-in choices must also be checked by hand. Election officials have to review provisional ballots, which are cast by people not listed on the voter rolls and are held aside until the voters' eligibility is determined. And officials have to show that the number of ballots counted matches the number of voters who cast ballots.

(snip)

Any California voter may request a recount, and it must be carried out. The complication is that the person who requests the recount must pay for it, depositing the money each day before the counting begins for that day. A day of counting in Los Angeles costs $16,702, Heffron said, but she could not guess how many days would be needed to go through the recall ballots. If the recount overturns the election result, the voter who sought the recount gets his money back. If the result is not changed, the county keeps the money.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41934-2003Oct3.html

[Not a robought]

1. That almost sounds like blackjack

California - the best political circus money can buy. I'll stick.

[AndyTiedye]

2. What Happens if Someone Demands a Recount...

...in a country where they have DRE (Diebold Republican Electing) machinez?

[Journeyman]

5. About all they can do is count the machines. . .

and accept whatever number the machines game them for the vote. Pretty much sucks, but until there's a paper trail and certifiable software that's what we're stuck with.

[IndianaGreen]

7. A recount is almost unavoidable, no matter who wins.

The disparate methods of voting, and suspicions about the automated machines, is more than enough reason to question whatever vote count they come up for.

[EX-CONservative]

3. Also...

A recall petition of Schwarzenegger can only be put forth for registration by the Secretary of State when that person is sworn in.

Thus, an October 8th date to start the recall is impossible. The results need to be certified. Once that happens, Schwarzenegger will be installed. Then the Secretary of State (<bDEMOCRAT</b> Kevin Shelley :evilgrin:) needs to recieve the proposed recall petition, make sure it's withing election code guidelines and then the recall petition can be reproduced and distributed. Then there is a deadline of ~690,000 signatures or so.

Ahhhhh-nold has to be stopped the first time! If he wins, the current circus might have put off voters to another recall. For better or for worse, it is entirely possible no other recall in California will qualify for the ballot for 20 years.

Apolitical Joe Sixpack on the street is sick of the recall so this is likely the only chance. Objectively speaking, DUers in California should of course denounce the recall but talk up Bustamante.

Bustamante is our best chance. If he wins, the Republicans lose either way. It will then doom them to minority party status for the next 30-50 years plus **IF** they tried another recall, it would show the GOP for the scum they truly are and possibly backfire NATIONALLY! :evil grin:

I know many of you have heard that Bustamante might step aside. Most of his supporters are already against the recall. It will only boosten GOP turnout and lead to an Ahhhhh-nold win or even McClintock. :puke:

[sleipnir]

4. Very intriquing

I like the sound of this, the winner probably won't take office for at least a month or maybe two. Then they have to face "re-election" in the 2004 election, right? So even if Arnold wins, he's got to turn around and mount a re-election campaign post-haste.

This election system could only occur in California, sounds so scripted, but damn, it's interesting. I think this will trump Florida 2000 as the Best Circus Show on the Planet!!

ON a side note, I think that Bustamante's goose is cooked. He can't win, I'm sorry, but barring a miracle (one could happen, look at the rest of this weeks liberal wins!) he won't get the votes needed. The only option is a no vote on the recall. All the polls have Bustamante out by a sizable margin. It would be much easier, and practical, to close the small margin of the yes-no vote. I like the guy, but his campaign was just too ackward to run, it never really got anywhere, and he's been pretty much AWOL for the last five or six days.

I may not be in California, but I follow this election very closely in the print media and the respectable tv news outlets

[EX-CONservative]

9. 2006

The term of office expires in January 2007. The next election for statewide constitutional officers in in 2006.

The winner of the recall can serve this term and run for re-election in 2006. If the winner gets re-elected in 2006, they can NEVER run again for governor (or Lt. Governor!) after then.

[EX-CONservative]

10. Let's face it:

If in 1999, or even 2002, if someone came up to any of us and said that Ahhhhh-nold would be running for governor, much less a serious candidate, we'd think that person is nuts.

The whole world of electoral politics in this nation has gone in the Twilight Zone since Election 2000. The election of Jesse Ventura was a bad omen, I think...

[EX-CONservative]

11. Bustamante and Davis

I think Ahhhhh-nold is overperforming in polls due to the, um, chic appeal to being an Ahhhhhhh-nold voter. It's kind of cool to say, "Hey, i'm voting for Ahhhhhhhhh-nold." However, i'm banking on a good chunk of voters to have an epiphany in the voting booth. "I'm gonna vote for a steroid-laden sex addict?" I still think Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-nold and McClintock plus various mixed nuts to cobble together 50% of the vote. Thus Davis loses.

I think Davis is likely to go down. Most people don't know about Ken Lay and the manipulation of the state's energy grid. However, I think they are blaming Davis and not the democrats in general. The 56% of recall supporters are anti-Davis and not anti-democrat. About 1 in 3 are democrats in fact!

So, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-nold and Tom split themselves down the middle and Bustamante sneaks in. Hey, at least the REAL system of succession is saved! :shrug:

Of course, we're talking about California. I live in Florida but I am wishin' and hopin' that "Jaywalkers" do not make up a large chunk of the electorate.

[IndianaGreen]

6. Bustamante is not stepping aside for anyone, and certainly not for Davis!

Davis could have spared the country this spectacle had he resigned and endorsed Bustamante for governor, the race would be over by now!

[Democat]

8. I don't think so

If Davis would have resigned, that would have allowed Arnold to focus more on attacking Cruz. The way it is now, Arnold it taking it from all sides.

I think the problem is that some of the wimpy Democrats in California told Davis he couldn't run a "negative" campaign. Because of that, Arnold went on the attack, running effective negative ads everywhere.

By the time Davis told everyone to step aside and went on the attack, it was very late and Arnold had already made a lot of progress.

When will Democrats learn that being nice is always a losing strategy in politics. Arnold said he wouldn't be negative and then launched a bunch of attack ads. Davis had his hands tied by some big name Democrats.

The media is also doing everything they can to help Arnold.

[EX-CONservative]

12. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh-nold is sleazy

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-nold is a sleazy misogynist. I'm sure there's enough shit on him to have lasted from the night of his announcement on Leno to recall day.

"Nice guys finish last."
-- Yogi Berra(?)

[mitchtv]

13. resign? what for

fight them to the last breath. let them push us around oh but you are not one of "us" so it doesn't mean shit to you