Affirmative Action Opponents File Initiative With State Officials : Election: Submission for legal review is step toward November, 1996, ballot. Plan bans government use of ethnic, gender preferences.

Backers of a voter initiative aimed at outlawing affirmative action policies used by the state of California to benefit minorities and women took their first formal step Monday toward putting the measure on the November, 1996, ballot.

Strategists submitted to the state attorney general for legal review what they call the California Civil Rights Initiative, which would ban the practice of granting ethnic or gender preferences in state hiring, contracting and college admissions.

Filing of the proposal is a precursor to starting the clock on a 150-day period for supporters to gather the more than 693,000 California voter signatures necessary to qualify the measure. The period begins sometime within the next two months, upon completion of title and summary legal review by the attorney general.

Thomas E. Wood, a former professor and co-author of the proposal, called the filing formality a “historic event” that will lead to victory at the polls and “end the regime of race- and sex-based quotas, preferences and set-asides now governing” state policies.

Gov. Pete Wilson, who has made criticism of affirmative action a central theme in his presidential campaign, is an ardent supporter of the measure.

Assembly Democratic Leader Willie Brown of San Francisco, among other prominent Democrats, has been just as vigorous an opponent, calling the measure divisive, racist and flawed in its assertion that it would protect minorities against discrimination.

Proponents, citing polls running in their favor, told reporters Monday they are confident of collecting the qualifying number of signatures and intend to use professional petition circulators, direct mail, volunteers and even the Internet to reach their goal.

Joe Gelman, the measure’s campaign manager, said an image of the official state petition form would be loaded onto the far-reaching Internet communication network and transmitted to supporters to reproduce on their home or office computer printers. Signatures will be collected on the reproduced forms and mailed to headquarters to be added to the tally, he said.

A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, which governs election procedures, said the Internet usage would be legal as long as the reproduced form conforms with guidelines spelled out in the state elections code.

Proponents estimated that they would need $1 million to ensure collection of enough valid names. They said they have raised $350,000 so far.

The initiative proposal filed Monday is one of 15 that the attorney general’s office has received for legal review and the fourth dealing with affirmative action, a spokeswoman said. It is the only one so far, however, that opponents have marshaled forces to fight.