Understanding the California Recall There's plenty of confusion about the special rules and weird circumstances of the recall election. The more people who understand what's going on, the better. Here's our attempt to clear up a few things. Getting the Recall on the Ballot More than one million registered voters signed a petition to recall Governor Gray Davis. That was more than 12 percent of the number that voted in last year's gubernatorial election – the number needed to put the recall on the ballot. So, on October 7, California will vote on whether to recall Davis. What Exactly Are...