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Arnold not voted 5 of 11 elections { August 12 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/12/MN277951.DTLhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/12/MN277951.DTL
Actor has poor voting record
Schwarzenegger didn't cast ballot in 5 of past 11 elections
Robert Salladay, Carla Marinucci, James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback
Arnold Schwarzenegger, labeled by polls the early leader in California's recall election, did not vote in five of the past 11 statewide elections, records revealed Monday.
Schwarzenegger aides said they were researching four of those five elections to see why absentee ballots were requested by the actor but not recorded as being received by elections officials. They said the actor, an Austrian immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 1983, takes voting seriously.
The Los Angeles County registrar of voters said Schwarzenegger, who lives in Brentwood, voted in six of the statewide and presidential elections going back to 1992. He voted in the 2002 primary and the general election, which included a successful ballot initiative he sponsored on after-school programs and the re-election of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
But the actor did not return absentee ballots for the 2000 general and primary elections after requesting them, the registrar said, meaning Schwarzenegger twice missed a chance to vote for President Bush. He did not vote in the June 1998 primary, which included a successful initiative banning bilingual education, records show.
And Schwarzenegger missed both the 1996 primary and general elections, which included the presidential campaign of Republican Bob Dole and initiatives on medical marijuana and tax increases on the wealthy. In 1996, Schwarzenegger was promoting the films "Jingle All the Way" and "Eraser" and was filming the movie "Batman & Robin."
Schwarzenegger campaign aides were researching the actor's schedule and interviewing his assistants about four 1996 and 2000 absentee ballots they said the actor requested. They said ballots are sometimes rejected or not recorded by elections officials once they are received, or his assistants could have neglected to mail them.
"Arnold takes the right and privilege of voting very seriously," said spokesman Sean Walsh. "We are working to examine past records to ascertain what might explain gaps that appear in two election cycles when absentee ballots were requested."
Schwarzenegger is not the first political candidate with a spotty voting record. Financier Bill Simon, who ran last year for governor and is running again on the recall ballot, did not vote in 13 out of the past 20 elections. Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan tried to discredit Simon with that information last year, but Simon won the primary anyway.
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the major Democrat in the race, was first elected to public office in 1993 and appears to be a regular voter, according to news stories about his past elections. His voting records from Fresno, his home county, were not immediately available, however.
As he campaigns for governor, Schwarzenegger is using the same populist message -- cleaning house, throwing out special interests -- that former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura used to win in his state. That message resonates particularly with people who don't vote regularly.
Ventura took advantage of same-day voter registration in Minnesota, which allowed thousands of people to make last-minute decisions and vote for him. The deadline to register for the California recall is Sept. 22, two weeks before the election.
LOW TURNOUT LAST NOVEMBER
The last general election in California had the lowest voter participation since 1918. Only about 50 percent of registered voters showed up at the polls to elect Davis governor. Elections officials say they have seen an increase in voter registration since the recall started picking up steam.
An NBC News poll released Monday found 78 percent of those surveyed would "definitely" vote in the Oct. 7 recall. Walsh said "voters who may come out once every five years or twice every 10 years are highly likely to turn out in this election because they are excited" about Schwarzenegger's campaign.
But Green Party candidate Peter Camejo said Schwarzenegger's voting record will hurt him with people who care about issues and about serious candidates. He predicted the actor would lose support as Californians begin to find out his record.
"Here's a guy who says he's going to lead, and he doesn't even have enough interest to vote. . . . Bill Simon was the same way," Camejo said. "I think voters care about whether people are serious about what they're saying."
Camejo will get a boost today with the endorsement of former presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who got 4 percent of the state's vote in the 2000 presidential election. Nader is set to endorse Camejo in San Francisco at the Green Party's offices.
SCHWARZENEGGER'S TIMETABLE
Schwarzenegger appeared Monday in New York at a children's day camp supporting inner city after-school programs, and declined to answer questions. His campaign has been barraged with inquiries about the actor's political beliefs, but his aides said they don't want to "drink from a fire hose" and will present a platform when Schwarzenegger sees fit.
Schwarzenegger has set up a campaign Web site, www.joinarnold.com, but so far it's only taking campaign contributions. There are no policy statements or biographies of the candidate posted on the site.
The actor has held only a few brief press conferences with California reporters, choosing instead to appear on the same national network shows that helped him promote his movies. They also have a far wider audience than individual newspapers or TV stations.
Democrats, including Davis, are focusing on Schwarzenegger's lack of specifics on issues such as abortion rights, gun control, bilingual education and taxes. Davis said on "The Today Show" Monday that "Arnold Schwarzenegger will be the first to tell you he's got a long ways to go to explain what he would do as governor."
Still, the Schwarzenegger campaign seems ready to respond quickly. They had reporters sit down with Schwarzenegger's accountants Sunday to discuss his tax returns, which showed $57 million in income in 2000 and 2001.
And when former Gov. Pete Wilson told interviewers Sunday that Schwarzenegger in 1994 probably voted for Proposition 187, which was designed to cut off services to illegal immigrants, his campaign quickly issued a statement confirming the vote and offering an explanation: "He believes that we must protect the rule of law and that all immigrants are protected from exploitation when the laws of the land are followed."
ANSWERS QUESTIONS WELL
Mark Petracca, a UC Irvine political science professor, said he was impressed with Schwarzenegger's ability to answer detailed policy questions last year when he promoted Proposition 49, the actor's after-school initiative,
but he questioned whether he would have enough time to convince voters statewide.
"I guess I have to believe voters are smart enough to subject Schwarzenegger to some tough questions," Petracca said, "and if he hasn't been able to answer those questions through a media-avoidance policy, then he will pay a price."
As the pressure mounted on Schwarzenegger, political columnist Arianna Huffington called for candidates to participate in weekly debates leading up to the election.
"The public has had more than enough of candidates manipulated and controlled by their political handlers," Huffington said.
Davis appeared Monday at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, where founder Rabbi Marvin Hier praised him for helping get state money to the center's museums and exhibits. Davis said he would sign legislation pending in the Legislature that would expand teacher training in tolerance and conflict management.
Davis is expected to appear in public at events like this until the Oct. 7 election as part of a strategy of remaining above the fray and reminding people that he's still governor. Davis regularly orchestrated political events before the recall became a reality, but the pace -- and media attention -- has picked up considerably in the past few weeks.
RECALL MESSAGE RECOGNIZED
Throughout the day, Davis said he had "gotten the message" about the the recall but termed it an "insult" to the 8 million voters who participated in last year's election.
"My focus is to do my job," Davis said in Los Angeles. "A lot of people want to be governor. I am privileged to be governor, and I am going to spend every day I can making life better."
The recall election will first ask voters if Davis should be recalled from office. If a majority votes "no," then it doesn't matter how well the nearly 200 replacement candidates do on the second part of the ballot. Polls show a majority of voters favor recalling Davis.
E-mail Robert Salladay at rsalladay@sfchronicle.com
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback
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