The organizers of a campaign to recall the California government, Gavin Newsom, say they have received the required number of signatures to hold a special election.
The Secretary of State’s office will have to process the signatures and determine if they are valid.
Randy Economy, the senior adviser and official media spokesperson for Recall Gavin 2020, told Fox News on Saturday that the campaign had received about 1,509,000 signatures – more than the required amount. The organizers said they would expect 1.6 million signatures by Sunday.
California Gavin Newsom gestures in front of local officials as he talks about COVID-19 vaccines at the Fresno Fairgrounds, Wednesday, February 10, 2021 in Fresno, California.
(The Fresno-by via AP)
Organizers aim for mid-March due to the verification process on 2 million signatures and the campaign wants a comfortable margin. The group noted that there was a disqualification rate of 25% among the signatures collected the previous time.
“We are not there yet. We wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate the milestone along the way. But our work is not finished. We are working just as hard as today as yesterday, and we are going to work harder tomorrow,” told Economics to Fox News. “And if it were not for this wonderful group of volunteers who have dedicated so much of their lives, we would not have gotten to this point.”
Orrin Heatlie, the biggest proponent of the campaign, said he was “confident” in the work Recall Gavin 2020 did, but did not want to become complacent.
“We’re going to keep working until the end and we’ve been through the band,” Heatlie said.
A spokesman for Newsom’s office did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.
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California repeal initiatives are not uncommon – though they rarely get the vote.
However, people may be particularly dissatisfied with Newsom this year, who has been criticized over a number of recent events, including for violating his own strict coronavirus restrictions when he attended an indoor dinner late last year. The participants in the expensive restaurant meeting sat close by and did not wear masks.
The governor of California finally apologized for the incident and considered it a ‘bad mistake’.
Economy, senior adviser and official media spokesman for the campaign, suggested in a previous interview with Fox News that supporters of the movement believe the governor is mismanaging the coronavirus situation, adding that many small business owners in the state – such as restaurants, boutique store owners – their livelihoods have been completely lost, while department stores, such as Target, have been allowed to stay open.
Newsom “put corporate interests ahead of the people of California,” Economy said.
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Gray Davis, who was recalled in 2003, was the first governor to be recalled in 1921 in the United States. Davis was eventually replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former bodybuilder and actor.
If the recall comes to a vote, voters will be asked if they want to recall Newsom and who should replace him. If a majority of voters approve the repeal, the next governor is the person who piles up the most votes.