SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Registered voters across California will receive their mail-in ballot this month for September's gubernatorial recall election.
The second major election in less than a year for Californians, just like the 2020 President Election, the recall could have a significant impact on how the state addresses COVID-19, housing, homelessness, education, and more.
DATES TO KNOW
California's gubernatorial recall election will be held on Sept. 14, 2021. The first day to vote-by-mail is Aug. 16, 2021, and the last day to register to vote is Aug. 30, 2021.
HOW TO VOTE
Mail-in ballots can be mailed back to your county clerk-recorder's office through the US Postal Service. To ensure your vote-by-mail ballot is counted, it must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the county no later than 7 days after Sept. 14.
You can also bring your ballot to the elections office or any voting location to drop it off.
Another option is to wait until Election Day when you can go to your assigned polling place. There are more than 50 polling places in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties that will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
WHAT YOUR VOTE MEANS
Voters will be asked two questions on their ballot:
- First: "Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?"
- The options are "yes" or "no"
- Second: "Candidates to succeed Gavin Newsom as Governor if he is recalled:"
- Choose one from 47 different candidates
- Newsom cannot be chosen as a write-in candidate
- According to the state, a write-in replacement candidate must file a "Statement of Write-In Candidacy" with the county elections official of the candidate’s county of residence by Aug. 31. The certified list of write-in candidates will be available on Sept. 3. (We will post that link here once available.)
Voting "no" means you do not want Gov. Gavin Newsom removed from office. If you vote "no," you can still cast a vote for a candidate.
Voting "yes" means you want Gov. Gavin Newsom removed from office. You're then asked to select your choice for a candidate, who will succeed Newsom if the majority of voters also vote to recall the governor.
WHAT THE RESULTS MEAN
If the majority of voters vote to recall Gov. Newsom, the candidate who receives the most votes will be elected as the new governor. A candidate simply needs the most votes out of all the other candidates, not 50% of the votes or more.
If the majority of voters decide against the recall, Gov. Newsom will remain in office.
If a new governor is elected in the September election, they will serve out the remainder of Newsom's term until Jan. 2, 2023. The next California governor will be elected in November 2022, and that candidate will serve a full four-year term.
RECALL HISTORY AND COSTS
In California's history, there have been 55 gubernatorial recall attempts, according to the CA Secretary of State Office. Of those, only one has been successful: the 2003 recall of then-Gov. Gray Davis and election of former-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
This year, the effort to administer the recall election will cost $276 million, the Secretary of State Office added.
RELATED COVERAGE: New survey shows how Californians feel about the Newsom recall election
