Newsom set for recall election as signatures top 2 million

Voters will probably head to voting booths sometime this autumn when they will choose if they want to keep Mr Newsom in his post and if not, who should take his place

The California gubernatorial recall election is likely to go ahead after organisers behind the effort to boot governor Gavin Newsom out of office indicated that they have managed to collect over two million signatures, well over the threshold of 1.5 million to qualify for a recall.

Organisers say they had sent in 2.1 million signatures by the deadline on Wednesday and if the same rate of validity holds for the last batch of signatures as the initial shipments they will clear the bar with some margin to spare.

The first count of valid signatures after the passing of the deadline came from the office of the California Secretary of State on Friday. Before 11 March, recall supporters had collected and sent in 1.2 million valid signatures at a validity rate of 82 per cent, Politico reported.

The state had not yet counted another 380,000 signatures, which would cross the bar if they hold the same rate of validity. Organisers say that they have submitted even more signatures, bringing the total to 2.1 million. The bar for a recall to happen could be surpassed early next month, The LA Times writes.

The overwhelming likelihood that a recall election will take place was finally acknowledged by Mr Newsom on Tuesday when he told reporters: “The reality is, looks like it's going on the ballot."

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Voters will probably head to the voting booths sometime this autumn when they will choose if they want to keep Mr Newsom in his post and if not, who should take his place.

The pandemic has boosted the effort to show Mr Newsom the door. Organisers won an extension to their allotted time for collecting signatures and they have slammed the governor for the state of California's many closed businesses and schools.

Several Republicans have already announced their interest in taking on Mr Newsom and the Republican Governors' Association launched an account for fundraising for the effort this week, according to Politico.

Mr Newsom and those on his side of the aisle have showcased the falling rate of infections and low death rate as success stories. They have blasted the recall efforts as a right-wing extremist scheme by Trump supporters.

California political columnist Dan Walters suggested that former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa could be plotting to throw his hat in the ring as a Democratic alternative to Mr Newsom should he be recalled as Mr Villaraigosa called for California schools to be reopened.

FiveThirtyEight election analyst Nathaniel Rakich agreed, tweeting that "Dems would be stupid not to have a candidate in the [California governor recall election]. A single famous Dem like Villaraigosa would easily win the second question. It’s an insurance policy," referring to the question of who should replace Mr Newsom if voters vote for his recall.

Mr Rakich pointed out that while this could "undermine" Mr Newsom, what's good for him isn't necessarily what's good for the Democratic party, adding that a "washed up" politician like Mr Villaraigosa "has nothing to lose by running".

This is the 6th attempt to recall Mr Newsom since he entered the governor's mansion in 2019, CBS reported.

The last time voters in the state actually went to the ballot in a recall election was in 2003, when Republican candidate, bodybuilder, and movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger won with 48.6 per cent of the vote, despite fellow Republican Tom McClintock splitting the vote on the right side of the aisle.

The Independent has reached out to the office of governor Newsom for comment.