1,719,943 registered California voters upset with the trajectory of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tenure signed on to force the second gubernatorial recall in the Golden State’s history, Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber announced Wednesday night.
The final tally of more than 1.71 million verified signatures far exceeds the 1,495,709 verified signatures needed to trigger a statewide recount.
It also touches off a sprint for Newsom supporters hoping, perhaps in vein, to convince just shy of a quarter-million California signatories to withdraw their signatures.
Where are we in the recall process?
Currently, local elections officials are in the midst of a 30-business day window to request their names be removed from recall petitions, if they so choose. That window opened on April 26.
After that span is complete, the California Department of Finance and county elections officials have 30 business days to calculate the cost of the recall election. That figure is sent to the Join Legislative Budget Committee, Newsom, and Weber’s offices.
The budget committee has its own 30-day period to review the estimate provided by the Finance Department. After its review is concluded, the Secretary of State will certify, again, that there are sufficient signatures to take the recall to the ballot.
Then, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis will call for the recall election to be held between 60 and 80 days from the date the Secretary of State certifies the signature count.
That timeline shapes up to deliver an election in the late Fall or early winter of 2021, depending on expediency of review periods by the Department of Finance, Joint Budget Committee, and calendaring by Kounalakis.
