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Half of Likely Voters Would Recall Davis Even though a majority of likely voters support the recall, there is still concern - and confusion - about how the election will proceed. The balloting will be a two-step process. First, voters will be asked whether or not Davis should be recalled. Then, regardless of how they voted on that question, they can vote to choose his successor. If more than 50% favor the recall, the candidate with the most votes on the second half of the ballot will take Davis' place as soon as the election results are certified. The survey found that nearly 1 in 3 voters was confused about the balloting or were unsure how to proceed. The poll also found concern about the large numbers of candidates - 135 - who are on the ballot to replace Davis. Asked if they worried about the difficulty of finding their favored candidate among all those listed, 60% expressed concern about navigating the lengthy ballot. Even so, 3 in 4 likely voters said the confusion would make no difference in their decision on whether or not to recall Davis. And 64% said it made no difference that Davis' successor could be elected with just a small percentage of the vote. Even a majority of Democrats said that did not matter as they weighed the governor's fate. Overall, however, most views on the recall were deeply shaded by partisanship. The effort to qualify the initiative was led by Republicans, who garnered more than 1.7 million signatures from voters of all stripes to force the vote on Davis' future. Asked if they believed - as Davis has argued - that the election was a GOP attempt to overturn last November's results, 52% said they did not; 45% said they did. But responses differed sharply along partisan lines. Three in four Democrats believed Republicans were trying to subvert the November election, while 84% of Republicans disagreed. Opinions were similarly split about the atmospherics surrounding the recall contest. Likely voters were asked which statement came closer to their view: "The diversity of candidates running for governor shows that the democratic process is working," or "The recall process is threatening to turn the process into a political circus?" Overall, 53% of likely voters said the race threatened to become a circus. Eighty percent of Democrats held that view; by contrast, 67% of Republicans said the system is working. Similarly, asked about the precedent established by the recall vote and the possibility of continued recriminations - another reason Davis has offered for voting "no" on Oct. 7 - 52% of likely voters said they worry about starting a cycle of political payback. Three in four Democrats called the election a "dangerous precedent"; two-thirds of Republicans said they have no such concern.
Partisans even differed over the toll the election is taking on official business in Sacramento. By 54% to 44%, a majority of likely voters agreed with the suggestion that a "recall elections like this one interfere with an elected official's ability to do their job and efficiently run government." Again, 3 in 4 Democrats agreed, while 2 in 3 Republicans disagreed.
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