When Californians go to the polls on October 7 to decide whether to remove Gov. Gray Davis from office, they will also vote on a measure that, if approved, would prevent the state, including public colleges, from collecting and using information on race and ethnicity.

Known as the Racial Privacy Initiative and backed by Ward Connerly, the University of California regent who successfully promoted referendums in California and Washington to ban affirmative action, the measure was originally scheduled to appear on the primary-election ballot in March 2004.

But under state law, the measure must be on the next statewide ballot, which is now slated for October 7. The special recall election was certified for the ballot last week. The shift left supporters and opponents of the referendum only 11 weeks to mount their campaigns.

Although reporting race is optional on most college forms, Mr. Connerly says race should not matter to public officials.

But leaders of the state's public colleges say such information is needed to provide a snapshot of students on campuses and to monitor progress on programs aimed at increasing diversity. The University of California's Board of Regents voted overwhelmingly in May to oppose the referendum. The governing board of the state's community colleges also agreed to oppose the measure.

"Data collection in this regard is a valuable tool that helps the state and the system to measure, inform, improve, and define challenges, failures, and successes," said Cathy Unger, president of the community colleges' Board of Governors. "Without it, we are flying blind."

The California State University System's Board of Trustees is expected to discuss the issue at its September meeting.

Researchers have also come out against the measure, saying that without the data, they will be unable to study discrimination and stratification in health, housing, and education.