Gov. Gavin Newsom to face recall election as Republican-led effort hits signature goal
By Phil Willon
8 hours ago
People at a Recall Gavin Newsom stand during a December protest in Solvang, Calif. (George Rose / Getty Images)
Propelled by growing voter frustration over California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Republican-led drive to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office collected enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot, state officials reported Monday, triggering for only the second time in the state’s history a rapid-fire campaign to decide whether to oust a sitting governor.
Recall backers submitted more than 1,495,709 verified voter signatures — equal to 12% of all ballots cast in the last gubernatorial election — meeting the minimum threshold to force a special recall election, according to a tally released by Secretary of State Shirley Weber. Barring intervention by the courts, Newsom will face a statewide vote of confidence by year’s end.