The California Recall: What Happened and What’s Next?

By Natalia Toledo

According to NPR, Governor Gavin Newsom beat the recall in a landslide vote of 63.8 percent no to 36.2 percent yes. For many, the burden of the recall election has eased. But for others, the pushback has only begun.

Recall elections are nothing new in California, and that was by design. According to the New York Times, “Since 1911, at least 179 recall attempts have been made against state officeholders.” However, most recall efforts don’t make it past the petition stage. A petition calling for a recall must be signed by 12 percent of registered voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election. Additionally, funds have to be set aside for the campaigns and elections, which comes at a multi-million dollar price tag. The last recall attempt that made it to the election phase was against Gray Davis, who was replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For the full story, see The Cougar on Medium.

"Gavin Newsom" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0