ABSTRACT
In the early months of 2003, the state’s growing deficit was giving the Gray Davis administration a huge headache. The Davis team hoped for a high turnout in the special recall election. The new law was considerably weaker than an earlier version that required background checks and which Davis had vetoed. With his about-face, Davis incurred the wrath of critics, who accused the governor of pandering to Latino voters, underscoring the belief that to Davis, expediency was more important than values. Davis, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and other groups had seized on these concerns and filed suit to delay the recall election until the scheduled March 2, 2004, primary election. Operating with little public trust, Davis had precious little time and less opportunity to reverse course and undo all the bad will that had built up.
