Organizers of the recall effort against California Gov. Gavin Newsom collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The California secretary of state's office announced Monday that more than 1.6 million signatures had been verified, about 100,000 more than needed to force a vote on the first-term Democrat.
An election is likely in the fall where voters would face two questions: Should Newsom be recalled and who should replace him? The votes on the second question will only be counted if more than half say yes to the first.
Last week, Caitlyn Jenner joined the list of candidates running to replace Newsom. In 2003, voters recalled Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and replaced him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Democrat, who is deemed a star of the party and was once tipped for the White House, has seen a fall in approval ratings because of the state's oppressive lockdowns and bungled vaccine rollout.
More than a third of voters said they would oust Newsom at the ballot box if the recall qualifies, a survey by UC Berkeley found in February.
Organizers of the recall effort against California Gov. Gavin Newsom collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot
This now triggers the next phase of the recall process, a 30-business-day period in which voters may submit written requests to county Registrars of Voters to remove their names from the recall petition,' Secretary Weber said in a statement. 'A recall election will be held unless a sufficient number of signatures are withdrawn
The California Secretary of State will have to confirm the final signature verification on April 29, 2021.
According to News Channel 3, voters will be asked if they want their names to remain on the recall petition over a 30-day grace period.
If the number of signatures remain above the 1.5million threshold, a report will be send to the Department of Finance.
They will then determine how much the recall election would cost and then will send it to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), Governor, and the Secretary of State.
Caitlyn Jenner, pictured in Los Angeles on Monday, has announced she plans to run as a potential replacement for Newsom
An election is likely in the fall where voters would face two questions: Should Newsom be recalled and who should replace him? The votes on the second question will only be counted if more than half say yes to the first
The JLBC has another 30 days to review the costs submitted to them. The Secretary of State will then certify that there are enough valid signatures to qualify and will notify the Lieutenant Governor.
The Lt. Gov is then required to announce a recall election between 60 and 80 days of the signature certification.
The recall campaign was launched by the California Patriot Coalition and has the backing of potential Republican candidates including Joe Collins and Doug Ose.
Newsom's woes started in November when he was caught dining out at the exclusive French Laundry restaurant for a lobbyist's birthday as he told Californians to avoid gatherings, reinforcing perceptions that he is out of touch with people.
Newsom apologized for the dinner and said at the time: 'I made a bad mistake. I should have stood up and … drove back to my house.
'The spirit of what I'm preaching all the time was contradicted. I need to preach and practice, not just preach.
'You have to own it, and you have to be forthright and I'm doing my best every single day in trying to model better behavior.'
In the new year, he drew more fire for initially refusing to release the data he was using to determine which regions of the state should be locked down, then abruptly reversed course last week and lifted stay-at-home orders statewide.
Bill Burton, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama who lives in Southern California, said Democrats nationally have hammered a 'follow the science' message when many are more worried about getting their kids back in school and reopening their businesses.
'There's some disconnect between public policy and what regular people are experiencing in their lives,' he said.
The UC Berkeley poll found that 49 percent believed that Newsom's stay-at-home orders had little impact if any, while 47 percent agreed they had a major or at least some impact.
The majority said that the rules were confusing and inconsistent.
The poll revealed that just 31 percent of respondents felt Newsom and other state government leaders had done an excellent or good job, 23 percent said they'd done a fair job, while 43 percent said it was a poor job.
It's a remarkable slip in his political standings after he defeated Republican challenger John Cox by a record margin in 2018.
Last week, Caitlyn Jenner joined the list of candidates running to replace Newsom. In 2003, voters recalled Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and replaced him with Republican Arnold
Post a Comment