News
Stanford Students Say No to Recall, Prop 54
by Michael T. Hasper
Investigative News Editor

Latest polls show that a majority of Californians support the recall of besieged governor Gray Davis and highly favor actor, businessman, and philanthropist Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, Stanford students' opinions differ substantially from that of the rest of California, reflecting disconnect between campus viewpoints and those of the mainstream.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted last weekend shows that among probable California voters, a full 63 percent would vote yes on recalling Davis, as opposed to 35 percent who would vote no. This is in contrast to a poll conducted by the Review of Stanford students over the same time period, which revealed that only 42 percent of respondents support removing Davis from office, with 54 percent opposing the recall. Four percent were undecided.

The most striking divergence between Stanford students and Californians in general comes when asked which candidate they support to replace Davis. While the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll indicates that Schwarzenegger leads with 40 percent of voters polled, followed far behind by Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante at 25 percent and Sen. Tom McClintock with 18 percent, candidate support among Stanford students is strikingly different. Among students, Bustamante leads Schwarzenegger by a margin of 42 percent to ten percent, with all other candidates polling with two percent or less. The intensity of this difference matches well with historical data that unequivocally shows that Stanford students are far more liberal than either people in the United States or even California taken as a whole.

An interesting statistic is that an astounding 39 percent of probable Stanford student voters are still undecided in who they would support to replace Davis. With the recall vote only days away, such statistics imply either a lack of awareness of or interest in the candidates who vie to fix the problems of the world's fifth largest economy, or reservation of judgment until the last minute before making an informed decision and casting their vote.

A major issue over the past few weeks dealt with the efficacy of going forward with the recall vote considering the activities of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel sought to block the recall vote on grounds that some districts still utilized punch card ballots that could entail various elements of inaccuracy, even though the court expressed no concern last November when the very same machines were used in the 2002 election without chagrin. Further examination of the issue before the full Ninth Circuit resulted in the unanimous overturning of the original ruling.

It seems that Stanford students agree with the final Ninth Circuit decision. While 39 percent would have rather seen the recall delayed, 54 percent hold with the ruling to allow the recall to proceed on time.

Another hot-button issue on the October 7th ballot is Proposition 54, a "Racial Privacy Initiative" that seeks to prevent the state from "classify[ing] any individual by race, ethnicity, color or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting, or public employment." Supporters of Proposition 54 believe that California should not consider race or ethnicity if achieving a colorblind society is a goal and priority, arguing that collecting such data provides quantitative means by which certain groups can be discriminated. Opponents fear that the loss of such data would actually impede the ability to fight discrimination.

Stanford students appear to vouch strongly against erasing race and ethnicity as traits used to characterize individuals in data collection procedures. Only seven percent of students support Proposition 54, with 58 percent disfavoring the Proposition. Such numbers are exceedingly disparate from recent California polls showing a plurality of voters support Prop. 54. Interestingly, although Proposition 54 is hallmark legislation that appeals to an issue about which Stanford students are historically passionate, 35 percent of students are undecided or unfamiliar with it.

One positive element to the poll showed that 80 percent of Stanford students who are registered to vote in California plan to vote. With voting interest seemingly much higher than typical voter turnout, such motivation speaks favorably to the willingness of students to devote some time to being active in their republican democracy.

The statistical information was compiled from a random telephone poll conducted by Review staff. The margin of error for the poll was 7.2%.

Page last modified on Thursday, 02-Mar-2006 00:24:47 MST.