In the past eight weeks, Californians have been told the alphabet begins with the letter "R" - at least in Eureka.

They have been advised that the Michael Jackson running in Tuesday's election is not, in fact, the King of Pop.

And they have learned the most intimate details of Arnold Schwarzenegger's alleged sexual indiscretions, yet only the faintest outlines of what he would do as governor.

Over the arc of its accelerated lifetime, the California recall has at times confused and confounded, divided and enthralled. It has been hailed as a ballot-box revolution and a mockery of the democratic process.

Yet Tuesday, as voters head to the polls to decide whether they want to make Gray Davis the second recalled governor in United States history, the lessons from this bold and bizarre political experiment are beginning to emerge.

Some will continue to shape the election even Tuesday. Indeed, experts confess that they are at a loss to guess how severely - if at all - the last-minute allegations against Mr. Schwarzenegger might affect his once-mighty momentum. The condensed campaign period, they say, has given voters less time to learn about the candidates, and led to wild and unpredictable swings in voter preference.

More broadly, though, even the harshest critics acknowledge that the recall has brought an enthusiasm to California politics not seen in recent memory. And while any election-day crises could change the recall's legacy, they add that the tool of the recall - after 92 years of disuse - is here to stay.

"The inevitable result is that the recall becomes a weapon in the arsenal," says Tim Hodson, a political scientist at California State University, Sacramento. "You can't ever put it back in the box."

When California election officials took it out of the box this summer, it was far from clear whether the recall process - devised before World War I - would hold together or disintegrate into chaos. The recall, after all, had never been used on a statewide basis, and its first moments were a carnival of the absurd.

For one, the ballot was a mess. Voters would be asked whether they wanted to recall Davis, as well as who should replace him if he is recalled. Simple filing requirements meant that 135 candidates got onto the ballot - setting up the prospect of a candidate replacing Gov. Gray Davis with 15 percent of the vote. And an election reform - to ensure no candidate had the prime top spot on every ballot - mandated a random alphabet that begins R, Q, W, O in the first voting district and shifts one letter in each subsequent district.

"This had to be put together with gum and baling wire," says Dr. Hodson.

Questions over the complexity of the ballot - and whether voter confusion decides the election - will only be answered in coming days. The state has 39 days to certify the election. If the governor is recalled, the replacement winner would take office within 10 days of that certification - barring any legal action.

Page: 1 | 2