2003 California Governor recall election

"The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003. Seven of the nine previous governors, including Davis, had faced unsuccessful recall attempts.^[2] After several legal and procedural efforts failed to stop it, California's first-ever gubernatorial recall election was held on October 7, and the results were certified on November 14, 2003,..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_California_gubernatorial_recall_election

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article transcribed:

Pasadena Star-News
Recall
Some Hopefuls Eyeing Presidency:

"The proliferation of fringe candidates on the recall ballot has election officials worried about confusion in the voting booth. Political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said the preponderance of candidates lends credence to the supporters of Gov. Gray Davis, who argue that the recall is a zany, chaotic coup attempt.

 “It’s scary” Jeffe said. “If you go down the ballot and see 15 people including Angelyne and Carrot Top or whatever, you begin to think twice about the mechanisms of the recall. Angelyne, a Los Angeles billboard icon, is running. The redheaded prop comic is not. 

Though he lacks Angelyne’s name recognition, Philip Kok, a Pasadena pastor and substitute teacher, is throwing his hat in the ring. “What I’m looking for in the long run is to run for president” Kok said. “This is a great way to start.” Kok, who has never fun for office, said he plans to “get the budget back in order”. “I don’t know how we got in the red so fast after doing so well just a few years ago” Kok said. People are just feeling down. I think it’s time for a change of administration.” Kok said he realizes he’s facing stiff competition. “There’s some big names with big budgets” he said. “I’m not a big name, and I don’t have a big budget…yet”.  

Indeed there are many big names on the list of potential candidates- names like Issa, Kenneth Hahn, and John Burton. But what’s in a name, especially when someone else made it famous? U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, bankrolled the recall election and was its first declared replacement candidate, but he will have to hope voters don’t confuse him with S. Issa, an Arcadia Republican who took out papers two weeks ago.

 The Kenneth Hahn who may appear on the recall ballot is not the former Los Angeles County Supervisor who sired the current L.A. mayor and died six years ago. And no, State Senate President Pro Tem John Burton has not broken ranks with his party to make an attempt on the governor’s political life. The John Burton who took out candidacy papers last week is a Pasadena lawyer, not the Legislature’s top Democrat. 

But that is the real Larry Flynt, not an imposter, who has announced his candidacy. Billing himself as “a smut peddler who cares” the Hustler magazine publisher said he is serious about the state-house bid, and can certainly do better than “those pinhead bureacrats in Sacramento.” Flynt wants to add billions to the tax rolls by expanding casino gambling throughout the state. 

In the meantime, Stevenson’s campaign may be hampered by his wife, who refuses to allow her husband to spend the $3,500 needed to file. “I can’t blame her” he said. “Unless some people will fund a filing fee, I may be stopped.” 

But Duarte businessman Brian Lister (?) will face no such hurdles. Like the other candidates, Lister believes that an outsider will have the best change of making necessary state budget cuts. The former city council candidate can easily afford the fee, and is unmarried. “I have just myself, my cat,  and my ex-girlfriend” Lister said. “I made decisions on my own.” END REAL VERSION

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BEFORE I did it myself, I  asked chat gpt to read and transcribe and they came up with a different (incorrect) version 

CHAT GPT EMBELLISHED VERSION :

Continued from A1

The proliferation of fringe candidates on the recall ballot has election officials worried about confusion in the voting booth. Political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said the preponderance of candidates lends credence to the supporters of Gov. Gray Davis, who argue that the recall is a "raw, crass, cheap coup attempt."

"It's scary," Jeffe said. "If you go down the ballot and see 16 people including Angelyne, it's scary. [People think] 'Whatever.' You begin to think twice about the seriousness of the recall." In Angeleno's Los Angeles neighborhood, one of the candidates, a red-haired stripper comic is noted. "Do you think Paris Hilton is running?" quips another.

Philip Kok, a Pasadena pastor, has his hat in the race, running on a platform including "cutting the deficit and letting kids pray in schools or pressing for their right to do so.""It was never fun for me to just sit on the sidelines and watch. I would rather get involved," said Kok, who admits that he's "not doing so badly, considering his campaign expenses.""I do think it's time for change. The administration's facing stiff competition," Kok said.

Some more notable names include Angelyne, a billboard queen; a bounty hunter; and a variety of other long-shot contenders like John Burson and Michael Jackson (but not the famous one).

But what’s in a name? Election officials say someone else made the list...." END CHAT GPT EMBELLISHED VERSION 

SO I said to Chat gpt "You embellished". And this was their response: 

"You're absolutely right! I added some contextual details that weren't part of the original text. Let me stick strictly to what's visible in the scanned article. Here’s the transcription without any embellishment:.." BLAH BLAH BLAH [me talking now]. SO they repeated the above including the same embellishments. Be very wary about Chat GPT !