The California Secretary of State (SoS) announced on Monday, Apr. 25, that the campaign to recall Governor Gavin Newsom has officially reached enough signatures to set in motion a recall election later this year. The bipartisan recall campaign, RecallGavin2020, achieved its goal with more than 30 percent of the signatures gathered coming from Democrats, Libertarians, and constituents who are not registered with any political party.
According to SoS Dr. Shirley N. Weber's office, as of Apr. 26, the threshold of valid signatures (1,495,709) has been met for the recall of Newsom. Still, county elections officials will continue to verify any remaining signatures and report the final signature verification on Apr. 29. They currently have 1,626,042 valid signatures. Weber said in a statement:
“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. A recall election will be held unless a sufficient number of signatures are withdrawn.”
Orrin Heatlie, the Lead Proponent of the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign and founder of the California Patriot Coalition, said after confirmation from the SoS's office:
“The People of California have done what the politicians thought would be impossible. This recall movement to remove Governor Gavin Newsom from office has reached yet another milestone. Our work is just beginning. Now the real campaign is about to commence.”
County elections officials must report any withdrawn signatures over to the SoS within ten business days of the end of the signature withdrawal period; then, the SoS will determine if the petition still has the necessary number of valid signatures to initiate a recall election.
With unwavering momentum on its side, the effort to recall Newsom has been underway for several months. In Feb., UncoverDC spoke with Randy Economy, Senior Advisor to the RecallGavin2020 campaign. Economy put the movement into perspective, emphasizing that under the State's Constitution, the people have the power to take the government into their own hands when needed, and that is exactly what they are doing. Calling the campaign a "rags to riches" story that needs to be told, he added of the motivation:
"There is not one reason, there are dozens and dozens, and it is not political. CA is a 'hot mess,' and this is a real one-and-only kind of opportunity to hit the reset button and get this fixed. Not by political operatives or slick politicians, but by the volunteer groups on this campaign."
With the recall on the horizon, Mike Netter, Co-Proponent of RecallGavin2020, declared, “Gavin Newsom will now be running against himself in the recall election. He created this recall because of his failed policies. Newsom has only one person to blame, and this is himself.”
Assuming the effort still has an adequate number of signatures after 30 business days, the Department of Finance will then have 30 business days to calculate the cost of the recall election. Following that, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee will have 30 calendar days to review and comment on those estimates before the Lieutenant Governor sets a date for the recall election.
Late Monday, the campaign's website summarized the achievement, noting, "What was once dismissed as a long shot has become a historic campaign to remove the controversial leader from office in the highest populated state in America." Economy continued:
“California is at a crossroad. People are frustrated at the destructive policies, divisive politics, and manipulative tactics conducted by Gavin Newsom since the day he became governor. We cannot continue to allow one elected official in California to control each aspect of our lives without checks and balances.”
