California Special Election Exit Poll and Phone Survey, 2003

Most of the data in the California Special Election Exit Poll and Phone Survey, 2003, were collected through interviews conducted with voters exiting polling places in California on the day of the gubernatorial recall election. Early and absentee voters were polled via the telephone from September 29, 2003, through October 5, 2003. Respondents were polled for their vote in the recall election, when they decided to vote for that choice, their opinions of Governor Gray Davis, their choice for governor if Gray Davis were removed from office, the most important factor in choosing their candidate, and for whom they would vote if there were only two candidates for governor, Cruz Bustamante (Democrat) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican). Respondents were also asked to give their opinions of candidates Bustamante, Tom McClintock (Republican), and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and whether or not the latter addressed the issues in adequate detail. Other candidates included Peter Miguel Camejo (Green Party) and Arianna Huffington (Independent). Specific questions about the voting process concerned problems with the voting equipment and opinions of the recall process. Respondents were asked questions about state issues such as their vote on Proposition 54 (banning state and local governments from classifying anyone by race or ethnicity), the condition of the state economy, whether the budget deficit could be resolved without raising taxes, issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, and the California law extending domestic partner benefits to homosexual couples. Additional questions queried respondents on their position on abortion and how George W. Bush was handling his job as president of the United States. Background information includes age, education, frequency of voting in previous elections, household income in 2002, labor union membership within the household, political ideology, political party affiliation, race, sex, sexual orientation, and whether the respondent is of Mexican or Hispanic descent.