Top candidates cast ballots

06:13 PM MST on Tuesday, October 7, 2003

CNN Report

LOS ANGELES, California -- California voters turned out in record-breaking fashion Tuesday to decide whether to cut short Gov. Gray Davis' tenure -- less than a year after his re-election to a second term.

The race -- borne out of voter discontent with the California economy and dissatisfaction with the incumbent Democrat's leadership -- has tightened in the closing days, marked by accusations against the front-running replacement candidate, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, and charges of ugly politics.

Polls close at 8 p.m. (11 p.m. EDT) but election officials have already seen a large number of voters.

"So far, at least, we've been hearing that turnout is on a par with what we've seen in some record-breaking years for governor's elections," Secretary of State Kevin Shelley said.

The respected Field Poll predicted as many as 10 million voters would cast ballots -- 30 percent more than the 7.7 million who elected the 60-year-old Democrat to a second term in November 2002 and a record in the state for a non-presidential contest.

The secretary of state's office said that based on turnout in Los Angeles and some other indicator counties, the statewide vote could be as high as 60 percent -- comparable to that of 1998, the year Davis first won election as governor. That would amount to 9.24 million of California's 15.4 registered voters this year -- about 385,000 more than were registered in 2002.

Shelley said more than 2.2 million absentee ballots have already been cast -- votes that could be critical in a close race.

Whatever the outcome, Tuesday's election will be the climax of one of the most bizarre episodes in recent U.S. political history. Voters will decide whether to recall Davis and then choose a replacement from among 135 names on the ballot.

The second question becomes moot if Davis beats the recall. Under the recall rules, a majority of voters decide whether to oust Davis, but his replacement -- if there is one -- will only need a plurality of voters.

That means it's possible that California could have a new governor elected with fewer votes than the number cast to keep Davis in office.

Davis described the race as "razor close" Monday night, and said he felt "absolutely terrific" as he cast his ballot Tuesday in West Hollywood.

"I'm proud of the campaign we've run," he said. "I think people see the contrast between myself and Mr. Schwarzenegger, and I'm confident of the choice they'll make today."

He urged his supporters to turn out at the polls and said the state is in good shape despite the economic problems that helped trigger the recall. He also touted his record on health care, education and the environment.

"All these things have moved this state forward, and we've moved forward together," Davis said. "That's what I want to continue to do if the people are good enough to let me do it."

Recent polls show a majority of likely voters favor the recall and Schwarzenegger atop the field of replacement candidates, followed by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a Democrat; and another Republican, state Sen. Tom McClintock.

"It's up to God what the decision is," Schwarzenegger told a crush of reporters after voting near his Pacific Palisades home with his wife, Maria Shriver. "We've done all the work, and we've worked hard and campaigned hard and tried to get the message out there."

McClintock, a veteran conservative, predicted an upset as he cast his ballot at a Los Angeles community center, urging voters to follow their consciences rather than last-minute handicapping.

"People think that by voting for me, they might elect someone they don't want," he said. "My message is simply, if you vote your conscience, we'll be elected on election night. That's what pollsters are saying."

Schwarzenegger's campaign has been rocked over the past five days by allegations from at least 15 women that he groped and sexually harassed them in incidents stretching back three decades.

Schwarzenegger has both apologized for behaving badly and disputed some of the accusations, but he has not been specific.

Women were featured prominently on the rostrum at his speeches Monday. Both Shriver and her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of the late President John F. Kennedy, were on hand to offer very public support.

He has also been dogged by allegations that he expressed admiration for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in a 1975 interview, though those charges largely dissipated after two figures involved in the interview discounted them. Schwarzenegger, who, like Hitler, is a native of Austria, has vehemently denied that he ever had Nazi sympathies.

Schwarzenegger and his campaign have accused Davis and his fellow Democrats of helping orchestrate the last-minute charges, but the Davis campaign has denied that it had any role in bringing the charges to light.

This article courtesy of CNN.