Newsom recall effort has enough signatures to make ballot

The effort aimed at recalling California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, according to data released by the California secretary of state on Monday.

According to the secretary’s office, 1,626,042 valid signatures have been collected in support of Newsom’s recall effort, which exceeds the 1,495,709 signatures required. That number is expected to grow, as counties have until April 29 to confirm the validity of any remaining signatures.

“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,” California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a statement.

Californians can use that amount of time to decide if they want to withdraw their support of the recall effort. If they report a change of heart to local election officials by June 8, their name will be removed from the petition.

“A recall election will be held unless a sufficient number of signatures are withdrawn,” Weber said.

If the petition has enough signatures after the withdrawal period, the Department of Finance will have 30 business days to estimate the cost of the recall election, according to the secretary’s office.

Once the Finance Department determines an approximate price, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee will have 30 calendar days to review and comment on the calculations before the lieutenant governor sets a date for the recall election.

The Recall Gavin 2020 group celebrated the announcement from the secretary of state’s office, writing in a statement that “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.”

“Our work is just beginning. Now the real campaign is about to commence,” said Orrin Heatlie, lead proponent of the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign and founder of the California Patriot Coalition.

The Stop the Republican Recall group also responded to the development, writing in a statement that “this election will be about two different visions for California.”

“The Republican recall – backed by partisan, pro-Trump, and far-right forces – threatens our values as Californians and seeks to undo the important progress we’ve made under Governor Newsom – fighting COVID, supporting families who are struggling, protecting our environment, common-sense gun safety laws. There’s simply too much at stake – we will win,” Juan Rodriguez, the group’s campaign manager, continued in the statement.

A poll conducted last month by Probolsky Research found that more Californians would vote to keep Newsom in office than oust him if a recall election were triggered at the time of the survey.

The poll found that 46 percent of voters and 53 percent of those who say they are likely to vote in a recall election would vote to keep the governor in office, while 40 percent of all voters and 35 percent of likely recall voters would opt to remove him.

Last week, Olympic gold medalist and reality television star Caitlyn Jenner announced that she will challenge Newsom in a recall election.