For the first time in history, California is hurtling toward an election in which voters could recall the governor. Events are moving swiftly behind the scenes. It's time to sit up and pay attention.

As we have stressed on this page before, the bid to oust Gray Davis less than a year after his re-election is an abuse of the recall provisions of the state constitution. That process should be reserved, in our view, for officeholders who are guilty of malfeasance. It should not be employed to refight the last election. The recall-Davis campaign, financed by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, sets a disturbing precedent that could lead to an endless cycle of spiteful recall initiatives mounted by the losing party after future statewide elections.

Yet, whether we approve or not, the question of whether to remove Davis from office appears headed for the ballot, either in a fall special election or in California's regular presidential primary next March. The independently wealthy Issa has contributed $800,000 to the recall drive, and backers say they already have collected about 700,000 of the 897,158 signatures required to put the issue before voters.

As matters stand today, Davis would have tremendous difficulty keeping his seat. In fact, the seat bottom appears to have fallen out from under him.

Amid the state's catastrophic fiscal crisis, only one in five (21 percent) likely voters approves of the governor's performance in office, according to a recent survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. "Disapproval ratings outnumber approval ratings across all racial and ethnic groups today," according to the PPIC pollster.

Among Republican voters, only 8 percent approve of Davis' job performance. This is significant because if the recall balloting is held in the fall, the turnout is likely to be more heavily Republican than if it is held next March, when Democratic voters will be drawn to the polls to select a presidential candidate.

On the same ballot with the recall question, voters would be asked to choose a gubernatorial successor from what could be a long list of Democratic, Republican and third-party candidates. Under the constitution, the candidate who wins the most votes would finish out the remaining three years of Davis' term. The victor need not win a majority of the votes, which means Davis could be replaced by a contender who gained, say, only 15 percent of the total votes cast.

With the top office in the largest state now plainly at stake, a potential free-for-all looms. At this moment, Issa is the only declared candidate. But other possible GOP contenders include Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon and state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks.

The list of potential Democratic hopefuls is even longer: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Treasurer Phil Angelides, not to mention Davis himself battling to persuade voters to retain him, thereby making the second question on the ballot moot.

Never before has California confronted the prospect of such political chaos – or the prospect of such a dramatic upheaval in Sacramento. Voters have a responsibility to pay attention now more than ever.