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Davis Allies Explore Challenge Even as they mobilized, however, Davis advisors also were researching grounds for legal action and said they might move as quickly as this week to challenge the signature-gathering process in court. Such a move, even if ultimately unsuccessful, might delay the process long enough to throw the election into next spring, when the presidential primary is expected to draw a heavy Democratic turnout. Experts looking for ways to potentially derail the historic vote pointed to requirements in the state election law that specify those who circulate petitions, as well as those who sign them, must be registered voters. Many of the paid signature-gatherers employed by the recall campaign are professionals who move from state to state, following campaigns that hire them and pay per signature. Davis advisors also said the petitions might be vulnerable because many were downloaded from the Internet, and election law requires that each petition specify the name of the county in which it is circulated, and that all signatures gathered must be from voters registered in that county. A spokesman for the Davis anti-recall campaign, Taxpayers Against the Recall, wouldn't discuss specifics but confirmed that the group is discussing various options. "We wouldn't be a very smart campaign if we didn't examine all the options, just as they are examining all their legal options," spokesman Carroll Wills said. "We are looking at everything." Recall proponents said they were anticipating legal maneuvers by the Davis forces. "I would not be surprised if the governor and his supporters would stop at nothing to derail the recall, based on the tactics they've tried to employ in harassing the signers and circulators of petitions," said Thomas Hiltachk, legal advisor to the recall campaign. "But I'm not aware of any grounds for a legal assault on the process." Davis strategists said they were prepared for a campaign and believed they could convince voters to reject what Davis will portray as a Republican-backed attempt to unseat a duly elected governor. "We believe we have a strong message about the process, about the agenda being offered as an alternative, about the uncertainty and, if they go for a special election, the cost," said Paul Maslin, Davis' longtime pollster, one of those preparing for the campaign. "The truth is, we have more than one argument." Echoing the message of other Democratic strategists, Maslin said the recall is destined to fail once the campaign gets underway in earnest. A Los Angeles Times poll last week found that 51% of voters said they would recall Davis — a number that Maslin and other Democrats said would weaken once an election campaign got underway. "Initiatives that start a campaign at 50% lose 99 times out of 100," he said. The Spotlight Shifts With organizers of the campaign to unseat Davis declaring a successful end to their signature drive, the spotlight in the historic political drama shifted Tuesday from California's streets and shopping malls to county election offices and, potentially, state courtrooms. Recall organizers have submitted more than 966,000 signatures to the state's 58 counties, a Los Angeles Times survey of county registrars found. Forty-five of the state's 58 counties have begun validating those signatures, with a number of counties reporting validation rates of 80% or higher, a rate that bodes well for recall supporters if they deliver the 1.3 million signatures they say they have collected.
If elections officials validate the signatures and addresses of 897,152 registered voters who signed recall petitions, Californians will decide Davis' fate in a
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