Fun with Recalls

This strikes me are clearly running counter to the spirit (indeed, the letter) of the California State Constitution's recall provision:

Gov. Gray Davis will ask the California Supreme Court to delay his Oct. 7 recall election until March and make him a candidate to, in effect, replace himself, his attorneys said Sunday.

Indeed, by giving the governor two ways to escape recall, it would utterly alter the nature of the process as written.

Indeed, this is another example of trying to change the rules of the game after the game has started. It is like the Toricelli replacement lawsuit in NJ in 2024, and the attempt (indeed, the success) of the Gore campaign to win extensions and alterations of the rules for the recount in Florida, despite what the law stated.

And you have to love the irony:

Attorneys for the Democratic governor's campaign committee, Californians Against the Costly Recall, told reporters in a conference call that voters who want to retain Davis would have their equal protection rights violated if he is not listed as a replacement candidate.

So, because the recall is costing so much, let's save some money by causing the state to incur court costs, not to mention the costs associated with extending the process. Although I will grant that delaying the process until March would save some money. However, the legal battles wil cost the state money, and these things have a way of feeding off themselves. It seems to me that at this point Davis needs to campaign, and then take his lumps, if that is how it turns out.

And if after all of this people want to try and refine the rules, or elimnate the recall provision in the constitution, they should do so through the appropriate institutional methods.

Davis to Sue to Delay Recall

Posted by Steven Taylor at August 4, 2024 08:49 AM | TrackBack