The California Secretary of State has verified the necessary amount of signatures to begin a recall election for California Governor Gavin Newsom. What should you expect?
As of April 26, 2021, the California Secretary of State has verified 1,626,042 signatures in the campaign to recall the Governor of California. A total of 1,495,709 valid signatures were required to trigger the recall, which is equal to 12% of the total amount of votes cast in the previous election for Governor. Additional rules for small counties are requires, and a larger percentage of votes is required when recalling state legislators and judges.
Gavin Newsom began his term as California’s Governor on January 7, 2019 and his term is set to expire on January 2, 2023. In that time there have been a total of six recall efforts, with this fifth effort being successful [Source: SOS]. Previous recalls pinned old California problems on the newly elected Governor.
This particular recall gained traction after the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the country. Governor Newsom responded by closing schools and many businesses to slow the spread of the virus, spurring anger and anxiety from parents and small business owners that had little to no financial support.
The Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis is required to schedule an election within 60 to 80 days of the certification of signatures. That should place the recall election somewhere between October 6 and October 26, 2021. The Secretary of State, County Election Officials, and others in our government will continue taking the necessary bureaucratic steps to move the process along.
The ballot of the recall election will have two sections: a ballot measure and a candidate election. The first section asks if you believe the Governor of California should be recalled (removed) from office. A majority of the vote (50% + 1) is required to recall the Governor. The second section will allow you to choose one candidate to serve the remainder of Governor Newsom’s term if the recall is successful. The candidate with the most votes will be the winner.
There is no limit to the amount of candidates that can run for office. The 2003 Recall of Governor Gray Davis included a total of 135 candidates from politicians to celebrities to porn stars, with Arnold Schwarzenegger rising above them all to become the new Governor of California. A qualified candidate must be an American citizen, registered to vote or qualified to vote when accepting nomination papers, cannot have served for two terms as Governor since November 6, 1990, and must pay a (nearly) $4,000 filing fee with at least 7,000 valid signatures from California voters.
This time around celebrity Caitlyn Jenner is looking to run in the Republican party. She will face off against businessman John Cox, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and former US Rep Doug Ose, among others that are sure to announce their campaigns in the coming days [Source: LA Times].
