Trump supporters shout slogans as they carry a sign calling for a recall from California Governor Gavin Newsom during a protest against a home order amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Huntington Beach, California, on November 21, 2020. | AP Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez
OAKLAND – California Governor Gavin Newsom is almost certain to face a revocation election this year based on an official update on Friday indicating that proponents have gathered more than enough valid signatures.
Supporters say they sent 2.1 million gross signatures by Wednesday’s deadline, which in their prevailing validity rate would take them beyond the limit of 1.5 million valid signatures with a comfortable margin to spare.
The first post-term count by the California Secretary of State’s Office made that reality a reality on Friday. Proponents sent 1.2 million signatures valid through March 11. The state has not yet processed a block of another 400,000 rough signatures, which are likely to yield signatures valid enough to qualify the validity rate of 82% of the organizers.
Although the state still has weeks to certify an election, any sense of suspense evaporated when Newsom himself admitted that a revocation election was likely this week. After avoiding the issue for months, the Democratic governor embarked on a national media tour and launched a national network of prominent advocates such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and voting rights defender Stacey Abrams.
“The reality is that it looks like it’s going to the polls,” Newsom told reporters on Tuesday in California.
Assuming supporters have gathered enough signatures, voters are likely to go to the polls sometime in the fall. They will answer two questions: whether to retain Newsom and who should replace him.
The coronavirus boosted the recall, fueling voter frustration and allowing the proponents of the recall to gain a critical extension to court signature collection. Critics pointed to closed schools and businesses as evidence of Newsom’s alleged irresponsibility. Several Republicans have already declared their candidacies while the national Republican Party poured money to topple Newsom, while the Association of Republican Governors this week launched a fundraising account.
Newsom and his allies pointed to California’s free-falling infections and relatively low mortality rate as signs of success, and criticized the recall as an effort led by right-wing extremists and supporters of former President Donald Trump.