![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Election Day 12 days away in California
Sep. 2nd, 2021 05:08 pmElection Day is just 12 days away in California.
"LOL, WUT?" you might be thinking. "Elections aren't until November."
This is a recall election. The California Constitution allows the governor to be recalled. In case you're not sure, "recalled" means removed from office. All it takes in California is enough signatures on petitions— and the threshold for that is absurdly low, BTW— and the state must schedule a special election. Political opponents of Gov. Gavin Newsom, bankrolled by the same out-of-state interests that have bankrolled the ongoing Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election, got enough signatures several months ago, so here we are.
A glance at the ballot indicates what kind of hot mess this is.
As with all such recall elections there are two questions on the ballot. Question One is "Shall the Governor be recalled?" Question Two is whom to replace him with. There are a whopping forty-six candidates on the ballot.
Among those 46 candidates very few names stand out. John Cox is a Republican who ran for governor in 2018 and lost to Gavin Newsom; Newsom won that election with 62% of the vote. Kevin Faulconer, also a Republican, is a former mayor of San Diego. A few other Republicans on the ballot have local political experience. Caitlyn Jenner is in there as a PR stunt. The GOPer apparently leading the pack, though, is far right-wing talk radio host Larry Elder. The state GOP has not endorsed any candidate.
The Democrats on the ballot hold even less name recognition than the leading Republicans. Newsom is not on the ballot as a sitting governor can't run in his/her own recall (edited). No prominent Dems want to run against him. Indeed, some of those marking "Party preference: Democrat" after their names are DINOs— Democrats In Name Only, who have some ideas way out of step with mainstream Democratic party values. The state Democratic party also has not endorsed any candidate. They do urge you, though, to vote HELL NO on the recall itself.
With so many candidates on the ballot, and little to qualify or distinguish among them, it's entirely possible that whoever wins will win with a very small percentage of the vote. That's doubly true because of the timing of this special election. A one-off election might only draw 35% turnout. Imagine if our next governor wins with 10% of the votes in a 35% turnout election.
UPDATE 9/15: Newsom wins. By a lot.
"LOL, WUT?" you might be thinking. "Elections aren't until November."
This is a recall election. The California Constitution allows the governor to be recalled. In case you're not sure, "recalled" means removed from office. All it takes in California is enough signatures on petitions— and the threshold for that is absurdly low, BTW— and the state must schedule a special election. Political opponents of Gov. Gavin Newsom, bankrolled by the same out-of-state interests that have bankrolled the ongoing Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election, got enough signatures several months ago, so here we are.
A glance at the ballot indicates what kind of hot mess this is.
As with all such recall elections there are two questions on the ballot. Question One is "Shall the Governor be recalled?" Question Two is whom to replace him with. There are a whopping forty-six candidates on the ballot.
Among those 46 candidates very few names stand out. John Cox is a Republican who ran for governor in 2018 and lost to Gavin Newsom; Newsom won that election with 62% of the vote. Kevin Faulconer, also a Republican, is a former mayor of San Diego. A few other Republicans on the ballot have local political experience. Caitlyn Jenner is in there as a PR stunt. The GOPer apparently leading the pack, though, is far right-wing talk radio host Larry Elder. The state GOP has not endorsed any candidate.
The Democrats on the ballot hold even less name recognition than the leading Republicans. Newsom is not on the ballot as a sitting governor can't run in his/her own recall (edited). No prominent Dems want to run against him. Indeed, some of those marking "Party preference: Democrat" after their names are DINOs— Democrats In Name Only, who have some ideas way out of step with mainstream Democratic party values. The state Democratic party also has not endorsed any candidate. They do urge you, though, to vote HELL NO on the recall itself.
With so many candidates on the ballot, and little to qualify or distinguish among them, it's entirely possible that whoever wins will win with a very small percentage of the vote. That's doubly true because of the timing of this special election. A one-off election might only draw 35% turnout. Imagine if our next governor wins with 10% of the votes in a 35% turnout election.
UPDATE 9/15: Newsom wins. By a lot.
