BALLOT MORE LIKE PHONE BOOK SHEER NUMBERS MAY COMPLICATE RECALL.

Byline: Rick Orlov  Staff Writer

Confusion still reigned Monday over whether the Oct. 7 recall election ballot will carry the names of 99 or 195 candidates - or somewhere in between - adding to concern that problems could occur right through Election Day and maybe even beyond.

Election officials have been working around the clock since Saturday's 5 p.m. registration deadline for candidates wanting to run for governor and had certified roughly half of the 195 contenders by Monday evening.

With that many people seeking to succeed Gov. Gray Davis if he's ousted by voters, election officials will face a ``logistical nightmare'' in processing ballots on Oct. 7, said Fred Woocher, an attorney specializing in electoral procedures.

``In L.A. County, with the punch-card system, you can fit 25 names on a page, so you're talking about a ballot of seven or eight pages,'' Woocher said. ``You have to make sure people only vote for one person so the ballot isn't nullified.

``The problem is different in other counties. Orange County, for instance, might have to give out a packet of cards that will have to be hand-checked before they can be counted. It is a nightmare waiting to happen.''

Most election officials try to keep ballots as concise as possible on one page to avoid potential confusion or favoritism for a candidate.

Woocher said the sheer number of contenders for the job and the statewide aspect of the filing process has made it difficult for county officials to process the paperwork filed by candidates.

``You could have someone dropping petitions in Ventura County that include voters from Los Angeles County,'' Woocher said. ``All of that makes it more difficult.''

The Secretary of State's Office has until 5 p.m. Wednesday to get the appropriate paperwork from county officials and certify all the candidates.

``All I can say is we are working night and day to get this work done,'' said Liz Kanter, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. ``But we're at the mercy of the counties and what they report to us.''

Which is where officials fear the problems now - and in staging the Oct. 7 election and counting the recall ballots - will take place.

Officials with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office said they, too, were scrambling to complete the certification work on time.

But, said Fernando Guerra, executive director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, the number of candidates could tax voters' interest.

``I wouldn't be surprised to see a 10 to 20 percent drop off in voting from those who vote on recall but decide against a candidate,'' Guerra said. ``This will be particularly true if voters have a hard time finding the person of their choice right off the bat.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com