A lawyer for Secretary of State Debra Bowen rejected on Tuesday the proposed petition forms the state's prison guard union wanted to begin circulating in its announced attempt at recalling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger from office.

Robbie Anderson, elections counsel for the Secretary of State's office, told California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) President Mike Jimenez in a letter that the petition form was rejected in part because it did not contain Schwarzenegger's response to the recall as required by California law.

When the paperwork was filed with the Secretary of State's office Jimenez made it clear that the governor's statement was intentionally omitted because he believed it to be "false and misleading." In his letter, Anderson told Jimenez that his office does not control the content of the response of the elected official who is the target of the recall.

Here is the letter Anderson sent Tuesday:

"Dear Mr. Jimenez:

On September 29, 2008, we received the two blank copies of the petition you intend to circulate for the recall of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Declaration of Mike Jimenez, and the items you submitted in regard to the publication of the notice of intention filed with this office in accordance with Elections Code section 11042.  We have reviewed the submitted petitions and have determined that your submitted petitions require alteration in order to comply with the requirements of the Elections Code. 

The petitions you submitted do not comply with Elections Code section 11041(a)(3), which requires the petition to include the answer of the officer sought to be recalled, if any. 

Governor Schwarzenegger submitted an answer to the notice of intention, yet the petitions do not include that answer.  In your submittal, you raise objections to the Governor's answer, and request that the Secretary of State reject that answer and direct him to correct what you characterize as false and misleading statements in that answer.  The Secretary of State has no authority to order an officer subject to recall to modify an answer.  Elections Code section 11023 provides an officer sought to be recalled with the option to file an answer with the Secretary of State.  The answer must be filed with the Secretary of State within seven days after the filing of the notice of intention, must not contain more than 200 words, must be signed by the officer and be accompanied by the printed name and business or residence address of the officer sought to be recalled.  There are no statutory requirements concerning the content of the answer.

Governor Schwarzenegger filed his answer on September 17, 2008.  The answer did not contain more than 200 words, was signed by the Governor, and included his printed name and business address.  The Secretary of State fulfilled her statutory obligations by accepting the answer for filing on September 17, 2008.

The petitions you submitted also fail to fully comply with Elections Code section 100.  Elections Code section 100 requires the petition to provide a space for the signer's residence address only.  Please see the format provided by Elections Code section 100 and insert the word "ONLY" after "Residence Address" in each signature box throughout the petition.

Proponents are required to submit two (2) copies of corrected petition forms for approval within ten (10) days from receipt of this letter pursuant to Elections Code section 11042(c).  It is our policy to approve or disapprove petitions based only on submission of a final copy.

Sincerely,

Robbie Anderson, Elections Counsel"

Later Tuesday, Adam Mendelsohn, one of the governor's senior political advisers, issued this press statement about the situation:

"The prison guard union leadership's irresponsible attempt to manipulate the system was rejected once again today - this time by the Secretary of State's Office," Mendelsohn said. "The union leadership's refusal to comply with the most basic requirements of the law proves yet again that their recall attempt is all about politics and has nothing to do with policy. This is simply about one union using tactics of political intimidation to get a pay raise."

Mike Florez, senior adviser to Jimenez, said the 30,000-strong union was not happy about the situation and reiterated that the recall effort was about removing a "poorly performing governor from office and not just about a contract."

"It's obvious that the Secretary of State's office doesn't have a lot of power in terms of the accuracy of these submittals," Florez told PolitickerCA.com. "We have ten days to respond. At this point we plan to keep all of our options open. As always, we will act in the best interest of our members."