Sacramento -- The campaign to oust Gov. Gray Davis moved into its second critical stage Monday: Recall supporters announced they have collected nearly double the signatures needed, and Davis' allies vowed to file a lawsuit today challenging how they were gathered.
The lawsuit signals that Davis and his defenders are using every means available to question the legitimacy of the recall, which they have dubbed a right-wing coup to topple the government. Recall supporters called the lawsuit a frivolous and cynical attempt to overturn the will of 1.6 million petition signers.
Lawyers opposed to the recall said petition circulators acted as mercenaries who were bused into California from Washington and Arizona, housed in motels and paid $1 a signature with no intention of becoming California residents. The law requires signature gatherers in a recall campaign to be registered voters, which requires state residency.
Despite 31 attempts since 1911, no other gubernatorial recall campaign has gotten this far. With record-low public opinion of Davis, Republicans say the recall process is a "lemon law" for governors, claiming Davis lied to the public about the scope of the current budget crisis.
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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/07/15/MN247191.DTL
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