The following are the results of the 2003 California recall election held on October 7, 2003 which unseated Gray Davis and propelled actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the governorship. The 2003 California recall was a special election permitted under California law. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years). ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gray Davis 37th Governor of California Joseph Graham Davis Jr. ... Arnold Schwarzenegger 38th Governor of California Shown here as Governor of California, with the gubernatorial seal in the background. ...

Candidates

Over 600 Californians took out papers to become gubernatorial candidates and 247 filed those papers. Of those, 135 were certified by the Secretary of State as having met the requirements to be a candidate. In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ...

Of the candidates, the party affiliation breakdown was:

• 50 Democrats
• 43 Republicans
• 32 independents
• 4 Greens
• 3 Libertarians
• 2 Natural Law Party
• 1 American Independent
• 1 Peace and Freedom

The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... Current GPUS logo depicts a stylized flower, a theme common in many worldwide green party logos. ... The Libertarian Party is a United States political party created in 1971. ... The United States Natural Law Party was a United States political party affiliated with the international Natural Law Party. ... American Independent Party is a United States American political party. ... United States Peace and Freedom Party logo The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a United States political party founded in 1967 as a leftist organization opposed to the Vietnam War. ...

Results

It was a two-question ballot, with the first question being whether the sitting governor should be recalled. The second question was to decide who ought to replace the governor, in case a majority voted yes on the recall question.

The voters of California decided to recall governor Gray Davis by a 5 to 4 margin (55.4% in favor of recall vs. 44.6% against recall). There were more votes for Schwarzenegger than for the next three candidates combined, including fellow Republican McClintock. There were also more votes for Schwarzenegger than votes against recalling Davis (some were concerned beforehand that Davis' replacement might not reach this level). Voters elected Arnold Schwarzenegger to become Davis's replacement by a plurality of 48.6% to runner-up Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's 31.5%. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office. ... Gray Davis 37th Governor of California Joseph Graham Davis Jr. ... Arnold Schwarzenegger 38th Governor of California Shown here as Governor of California, with the gubernatorial seal in the background. ... A plurality (or relative majority) is the largest share of something, which may or may not be a majority. ... Cruz Miguel Bustamante (born January 4, 1953) is an American politician. ...

Following the election, all 58 of California's counties had 28 days (until November 4, 2003) each to conduct a countywide canvass of their votes. Counties used this time to count any absentee ballots or provisional ballots not yet counted, to reconcile the number of signatures on the roster of registered voters with the number of ballots recorded on the ballot statement, to count any valid write-in votes, to reproduce any damaged ballots, if necessary, and to conduct a hand count of the ballots cast in 1% of the precincts, chosen at random by the elections official. The U.S. state of California is divided into 58 counties. ... November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the United States, an absentee ballot is a ballot that the voter receives and (usually) sends through the mail, rather than travelling to a polling place and marking the ballot at a voting booth. ...

Counties then had 7 days from the conclusion of canvassing (November 11, 2003, 35 days after the election) to submit their final vote totals to the California Secretary of State's office. The Secretary of State had to certify the final statewide vote by 39 days (until November 15) after the election. The vote was officially certified on November 14, 2003. Once the vote was certified, governor-elect Schwarzenegger had to be sworn-in to office within 10 days. His inauguration took place on Monday, November 17, making Schwarzenegger the 38th Governor of California. November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 17 is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ... Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis with President George W. Bush (2003) The Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the state government, whose responsibilities include making yearly State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, attending a grand meeting with all the...

Candidates appear with party designations and ballot descriptions as provided by the California Secretary of State. Source of election numbers: California Secretary of State's website

Certified election results

Shall Gray Davis be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?

Candidates to succeed Gray Davis as Governor if he is recalled: