What Does The California Governor Recall Have To Do With Me?

Californians were on the edge of their seats with the California recall election taking place so close to home. Tuesday’s election decided that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will not be recalled from his seat as California governor. The decision for his recall came after numerous petitions and expressions of frustration with how he handled the pandemic, including his move to temporarily close businesses, classrooms and indoor church services. Voters had to answer two questions: 1) Do they want to recall Newsom, and 2) if he is recalled, who should replace him? The election didn’t win a majority vote, so Newsom stays. It’s over … right? Well, even for those of us not paying taxes in the state of California, we have reasons to care.

Why should I care?

Since 1913, there have been 179 recall attempts of state elected officials in California; of those 179 attempts, only one has succeeded. In 2003, Gov. Gray Davis became the first governor of California to be recalled over an issue with the state budget. For those not in California, this recall election serves as an opportunity to catch a glimpse of not only a recall election but also another trending topic: voter fraud.

Election fraud claims

Questions of election integrity have been prevalent after both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. For example, California governor candidate and Republican radio host Larry Elder said he believes “there might very well be shenanigans as there were in the 2020 election.” Former President Donald Trump also issued a statement saying, “Does anybody really believe the California recall election isn’t rigged?”

That messaging poses problems for Republican Party officials: They wanted to encourage California residents to vote but also cast a negative light on the security of votes by mail-in ballots. But according to Political Data Inc. as of Saturday, an overwhelming majority of California voters cast ballots by mail: 7.8 million ballots had been cast, which is 35% of registered voters. Widespread voter fraud issues have yet to surface.

What will happen after the recall election?

Newsom resumes his position and will be up for re-election come 2022. But ultimately, this election may cause people to continue questioning mail-in ballots, and it’s sure to be a trending topic in the next big election.