April 27 (UPI) — A motion to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom has collected enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot, state officials announced Monday.
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced the state had received 1.6 million valid signatures on recall petitions, surpassing the minimum threshold of 1.49 million — equal to 12% of all votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.
“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,” said Weber. “A recall election will be held unless a sufficient number of signatures are withdrawn.”
Californians will have until June 8 to recall their signatures from the petition. If enough votes remain, the state’s Department of Finance will be given 30 business days to estimate the cost of the election.
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee will then have 30 calendar days to review and comment on the estimates before the lieutenant governor will be required to set a date for the recall election.
If the effort succeeds, the state would hold the second recall election in its history after Democratic Gov. Gray Davis was recalled from office in 2003 and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican to serve as California’s governor, was elected.
Both former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and businessman John Cox previously declared their intentions to challenge Newsom, either in a recall election or when he is up for reelection in 2022.
Former Republican northern California Rep. Doug Ose and reality star and former Olympic gold-medalist Caitlyn Jenner have also entered the running to replace Newsom.
