Q: How does the
Oct. 7 election work?
A: Voters face
two questions on the ballot: First, should Gov. Gray
Davis be recalled - "yes" or "no." Second, which
candidate should replace him.
Q: If a
majority of voters choose to recall Davis, when does
he leave office?
A: We're not
necessarily looking at an instant recall. Counties
have 28 days to complete their canvass of the vote and
then another seven days to report that figure to the
secretary of state. The secretary of state then has
four days to decide whether to accept those figures
and declare the election official. Once the vote is
official, if Davis were to be recalled, he would be
out of office as soon as a new governor is sworn in.
Q: How long
would a new governor serve?
A: Any
replacement will finish out Davis' term, which goes
until inauguration day in January 2007.
Q: Can Davis
run on the recall ballot as a replacement candidate,
too?
A: No. Davis is
one of the few registered voters in California who
can't run in the replacement election. One of the
others is former Gov. Pete Wilson, due to term limits.
Q: What
happens if Davis gets more votes than any of the
candidates looking to replace him?
A: That doesn't
matter, since Davis is running by himself to keep his
job. If a majority votes to oust him, the number of
votes he gets in the losing effort is irrelevant.
Q: What if a
replacement candidate gets more votes than Davis, but
Davis still beats the recall?
A: That's
unlikely, but Davis would stay in office. If a
majority votes to keep him as governor, the results of
the replacement election are nothing more than a
sidelight to history.
Q: If Gray Davis
beats the recall, will the votes in the replacement
election be counted and made public?
A: The ballots
in the replacement vote will be counted and made
public just like those in any election. If Davis beats
the recall, however, the votes won't matter.
Q: What
happens if Gray Davis resigns?
A: Lt. Gov. Cruz
Bustamante would take over as governor and serve until
the recall election. If voters oust Davis, the
replacement governor would take over. What would
happen if voters decided not to oust Davis and he had
already resigned is still under review at the
secretary of state's office.
Q: If I vote
to keep Davis as governor, can I still vote in the
replacement election?
A: Yes. Everyone
who votes in the recall side of the two-part ballot
can vote for a candidate to replace Davis, regardless
of whether they supported the recall.
Q: If I don't
vote in the recall half of the ballot, can I still
vote on a replacement?
A: Yes. It works
that way, too, thanks to a recent court decision.
San
Francisco Politics 
Questions
About Recall