California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) had until June 22 to certify whether enough signatures remained on recall petitions to move the recall process against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) forward. If at least 1,495,709 signatures remain, the recall will proceed to a scheduling and budgeting phase. Supporters turned in more than 1.7 million valid signatures by the March 17 deadline, and signees had until June 8 to request the removal of their signature from the petition.
Newsom was elected as California’s governor in 2018 with 61.9% of the vote. Since 1911, there have been 55 attempts to recall a sitting California governor. The only successful recall campaign was in 2003 when voters recalled then-Gov. Gray Davis (D). Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen as Davis’ replacement.
A recall election would present voters with two questions. The first would ask whether Newsom should be recalled from the office of governor. The second would ask who should succeed Newsom if he is recalled. A majority vote is required on the first question for the governor to be recalled. The candidate with the most votes on the second question would win the election, no majority required. In the 2003 recall of Davis, 135 candidates ran and the winner received 48.58 percent of the vote.
