The California Recall Election

The 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election is the upcoming election deciding whether Governor Gavin Newsom should be recalled or not. This election was launched by a group of conservative Republicans, who were critical of Newsom’s policies surrounding immigration, taxes, the death penalty, and California’s homeless crisis. They required enough signatures on a petition for the recall election to occur. While they created a total of six recall petitions, only one was successful, with 1,719,900 valid signatures. The petition cited Newsom’s newly implemented policies regarding COVID-19 as “detrimental to the citizens of this state, and our way of life.” Most signers were angry at Newsom’s mask mandate, stay-at-home, and social distancing orders. It garnered even more attention after Newsom was photographed dining at a restaurant with lobbyists after urging Californians to avoid socializing.

A recall election allows voters to choose whether they want to remove a public official from office before they have finished their term. Registered voters will be asked two questions: “Do you want to recall the governor?” and “If recalled, who do you want to replace him?”. For Newsom to be recalled, it takes more than 50% of voters to answer ‘Yes.’ If more than 50% of voters select ‘Yes,’ the candidate with the highest percentage of votes on the following question will be elected as California’s new governor. If more than half vote ‘No’ on the first question, Newsom will stay in office. It takes a maximum of thirty days for county officials to finish tallying vote counts. If Newsom does end up being recalled, the Secretary of State will certify results 38 days after the election, and the new governor would take the oath of office. The new governor would serve the remainder of Newsom’s term - through January 2, 2023.

A recalled governor has only happened once in California’s history: when Democratic Governor Gray Davis was replaced by Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. 55% of voters voted ‘Yes’ and chose to recall Davis, and out of 135 candidates, Schwarzeneggar received less than 49% of voters to replace him. According to the New York Times, launching a recall in California is easier than in most other states, as every Californian governor since 1960 has faced it at least once.

In total there are 46 candidates - 24 Republicans, 9 Democrats, 10 “No Party Preference,” 2 Green Party, and 1 Libertarian. The most notable candidates include Larry Elder (a conservative talk show host), John Cox (2018 Republican nominee for CA governor and businessman), Caitlyn Jenner (former US Olympian and reality TV show star), Kevin Faulconer (former San Diego Mayor), and Kevin Paffrath (Democratic YouTuber).

Much to general surprise, the 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election may be close, despite California’s reputation for being a “deep blue state.” According to CBS News and a YouGov poll, only 52% of likely voters say that they plan to vote ‘No’ on recalling Newsom, while 48% said they would vote ‘Yes.’ The same poll showed that 72% of Republicans were “very motivated” to vote, compared to 61% of Democrats.

Registered voters were sent ballots on August 18th and could return ballots via postal service, official vote-by-mail dropbox, or any participating vote center. Registered Voters can vote in person, as polls open from 7 AM to 8 PM on election day. August 30th was the last day to register to vote online and get a ballot in the mail.

Written by: Claire Wu

Sources:

Bravo, Christina. “California Recall Election: How Newsom Could Be Replaced with A Less-Than-Majority-Vote Candidate.” NBC 7 San Diego, NBC San Diego, 19 Aug. 2021, www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/california-recall-election-how-newsom-could-be-replaced-with-a-less-than-majority-vote-candidate/2696574/.

“California Gubernatorial Recall Election - Frequently Asked Questions.” California Gubernatorial Recall Election - Frequently Asked Questions :: California Secretary of State, www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/2021-ca-gov-recall/newsom-recall-faqs?fbclid=IwAR3xt2GYaTuEnoLqs904Dx2KpFwI3e5xBw8ExAOWzIJM2jTkSR8kOoT5JB4.

Reston, Maeve. “What You Need to Know about the CALIFORNIA Recall.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Aug. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/08/21/politics/california-recall-election-what-to-know/index.html.