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CNN Live Today

California Recall Election

Aired August 12, 2003 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: it's as easy as ABC, except in politics. An alphabet soup of state regulations is being used to determine how candidates will be listed on the ballot for California governor. Nearly 250 job seekers could learn the lineup today.
Let's go ahead and begin this hour in California where politics are being played by the letter, and for candidates, where you land could be more decisive than where you stand.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken following the very latest developments and joins us now from our Los Angeles bureau.

Hello to you, and good morning, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi, and welcome to the Schwarzenegger report, which this seems to have become.

Here's the latest on Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, actually there is no latest. He has nothing on his campaign schedule today, according to those who send us the information. Perhaps he is dealing with his jet lag after flying back from New York, where he spent the day yesterday, refusing once again to answer reporters' questions. That, of course, has been the rap against him, and of course the other rap is against those of us who are reporting so much about him and not about the other however many candidates it's going to be. They think there may be close to 200 on the ballot who would be in the if Governor Davis is voted to be recalled, do you like this person to be governor?

They're still tallying up the number of people who have filed applications. It's close now to 96 was the official number of those who have gotten past. There could be many, many more. Some of them are quite significant figures in California, including the person who ran eight months ago and lost against Gray Davis, the Republican. Well, he's back again, Bill Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL SIMON (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: I do think this is time for an outsider, quite honestly, I am an outsider. People in California, as you can tell, are fed up over 2 million people have signed a recall petition. I do think it's time to discard politics as usual. The people have risen up. Special interests need to be flushed out of Sacramento. This is an historic time in California. It's time for the people's voice to be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Historic and totally convoluted right now. They had to use the lotto kind of drum yesterday to determine a new alphabet. Under California law, they don't just really on the standard ABC alphabet. The first letter of this one is 'R.' The candidates will be at the top of this long what-if ballot, if Gray Davis is recalled. Then another county, it is rotated. They have this very, very complicated system to try and achieve fairness. What they are really worried about is achieving an election. There are so many candidates, that the various county election chiefs are saying they could be overwhelmed.

As a matter of fact, the American Civil Liberties Union has gone to court once again to say that the election at least should be delayed until the presidential primary in March. There has been no success so far in the courts delaying or putting this off, but the judicial battle is not through yet -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Bob, curious about that, what is the argument there for the ACLU? is it just that the voters' rights could possibly be violated?

FRANKEN: Well, that's the ACLU's fundamental concern, that because some of the counties are not equipped, some of them still use the ballots that were discredited in California, that could disenfranchise voters. There's also the charge that California just doesn't have the money to conduct an election, and Gray Davis has so far unsuccessfully made the argument that he is treated unfairly, because the only way he can remain governor is get 50 plus percent of the vote, while anybody else who would run on that other part of the ticket only needs the most number of the votes. He is, in fact, is treated like nobody else, and that that is a civil rights violation. None of this thus far has been successful in the courts, but there are arguments that some lawyers feel have some merits. So it's not over yet in the courts.

COLLINS: Certainly not over yet. Bob Franken, CNN national correspondent. Thanks so much, Bob.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired August 12, 2003 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: it's as easy as ABC, except in politics. An alphabet soup of state regulations is being used to determine how candidates will be listed on the ballot for California governor. Nearly 250 job seekers could learn the lineup today.
Let's go ahead and begin this hour in California where politics are being played by the letter, and for candidates, where you land could be more decisive than where you stand.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken following the very latest developments and joins us now from our Los Angeles bureau.

Hello to you, and good morning, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi, and welcome to the Schwarzenegger report, which this seems to have become.

Here's the latest on Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, actually there is no latest. He has nothing on his campaign schedule today, according to those who send us the information. Perhaps he is dealing with his jet lag after flying back from New York, where he spent the day yesterday, refusing once again to answer reporters' questions. That, of course, has been the rap against him, and of course the other rap is against those of us who are reporting so much about him and not about the other however many candidates it's going to be. They think there may be close to 200 on the ballot who would be in the if Governor Davis is voted to be recalled, do you like this person to be governor?

They're still tallying up the number of people who have filed applications. It's close now to 96 was the official number of those who have gotten past. There could be many, many more. Some of them are quite significant figures in California, including the person who ran eight months ago and lost against Gray Davis, the Republican. Well, he's back again, Bill Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL SIMON (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: I do think this is time for an outsider, quite honestly, I am an outsider. People in California, as you can tell, are fed up over 2 million people have signed a recall petition. I do think it's time to discard politics as usual. The people have risen up. Special interests need to be flushed out of Sacramento. This is an historic time in California. It's time for the people's voice to be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Historic and totally convoluted right now. They had to use the lotto kind of drum yesterday to determine a new alphabet. Under California law, they don't just really on the standard ABC alphabet. The first letter of this one is 'R.' The candidates will be at the top of this long what-if ballot, if Gray Davis is recalled. Then another county, it is rotated. They have this very, very complicated system to try and achieve fairness. What they are really worried about is achieving an election. There are so many candidates, that the various county election chiefs are saying they could be overwhelmed.

As a matter of fact, the American Civil Liberties Union has gone to court once again to say that the election at least should be delayed until the presidential primary in March. There has been no success so far in the courts delaying or putting this off, but the judicial battle is not through yet -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Bob, curious about that, what is the argument there for the ACLU? is it just that the voters' rights could possibly be violated?

FRANKEN: Well, that's the ACLU's fundamental concern, that because some of the counties are not equipped, some of them still use the ballots that were discredited in California, that could disenfranchise voters. There's also the charge that California just doesn't have the money to conduct an election, and Gray Davis has so far unsuccessfully made the argument that he is treated unfairly, because the only way he can remain governor is get 50 plus percent of the vote, while anybody else who would run on that other part of the ticket only needs the most number of the votes. He is, in fact, is treated like nobody else, and that that is a civil rights violation. None of this thus far has been successful in the courts, but there are arguments that some lawyers feel have some merits. So it's not over yet in the courts.

COLLINS: Certainly not over yet. Bob Franken, CNN national correspondent. Thanks so much, Bob.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com