Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walters: Are Recall System Changes Reforms or Power Grab?
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 3 years ago on
September 14, 2021

Share

Win or lose, could Gavin Newsom be the last California governor to face a recall election?

As final ballots are cast and election officials begin counting the votes for and against Newsom, critics of California’s recall system contend that it’s too easy to put a recall on the ballot and too easy for an unqualified candidate to become governor with only a relative handful of votes.

Former Gov. Gray Davis, who was recalled in 2003 and succeeded by action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, is one advocate of change, telling Politico, “This is a game of Russian roulette, and at some point, for sure, a governor who got more votes than his successor will have to leave office because he failed to reach the 50% threshold.”

Polls Show Strong Support of Overhauling Recall System

Dan Walters

Opinion

Recent polling does indicate that there is fairly strong support among California voters for overhauling the recall system that has been a fixture — although only rarely invoked — of the state constitution for 110 years.

The latest indication of that sentiment is a new poll from UC-Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, which found that a strong majority of Californians want to keep the recall in some form, but “also favor reforms that would impose somewhat higher hurdles in bringing future recall elections to the ballot.”

Its results mirror those of a July poll from the Public Policy Institute of California, which also found that the reform with the strongest support is “holding a runoff election between the top two replacement candidates if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.”

Other Proposals for Changing Recall and Candidate Qualifications

Other options for change floating around include changing the threshold of signatures to force an election from 12% of the total vote in the previous gubernatorial election to 25%, allowing recalls only for cause, such as illegal or unethical conduct, and making it more difficult for replacement candidates to qualify for the ballot.

State Sen. Ben Allen, a Redondo Beach Democrat, proposes in Senate Constitutional Amendment 3 to change the current system of having two questions on the recall ballot — whether the incumbent should be ousted and secondly, which of the replacement candidates should win. It takes a majority of voters to oust an officeholder but the successor needs only a plurality.

SCA 3 would, instead, have one question. The incumbent would appear on the ballot along with the challengers and the top vote-getter, whether incumbent or challenger, would serve for the remainder of the term.

SCA 3 remains on hold but it’s obvious that its effect, if approved by the Legislature and voters, would be to make recalls almost impossible.

Reform Would Lessen Chances of a Recall Succeeding

In fact, virtually every proposed “reform” would lessen the chances of a recall succeeding, including legislation now awaiting Newsom’s signature or veto that would ban paying signature gatherers for each name they collect in recalls, referenda and initiatives. Sen. Josh Newman, a Fullerton Democrat who was recalled and then later recaptured his Senate seat, is the author of Senate Bill 660.

Were California contemplating the creation of a recall system from scratch, rather than dealing with one that’s 110 years old, some of the proposed changes would make sense. However, one cannot divorce the proposed “reforms” from the state’s current political orientation.

It’s evident from the polling results and the criticism that Democrats, who already dominate California politics, are the ones who want changes that would, in effect, solidify their control even more by making it more difficult, or even impossible, to oust an incumbent from the governorship or any other office.

One person’s reform is another person’s power trip.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

[activecampaign form=31]

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

DON'T MISS

Shy Pup Finds Hope with Foster Family, Evasion from Euthanasia

DON'T MISS

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

DON'T MISS

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

DON'T MISS

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

DON'T MISS

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

DON'T MISS

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

DON'T MISS

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

DON'T MISS

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

DON'T MISS

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

UP NEXT

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

UP NEXT

California’s Transition Off Carbon Fuels Could Be a Monumental Disaster

UP NEXT

Don’t Let Liberal Purity Elect Trump

UP NEXT

Newsom Provides Welfare to the Wealthy, Skimps on Anti-Homelessness Programs

UP NEXT

Independent Gen Zers Will Decide Elections From Now On

UP NEXT

America’s Political Divide Shifts from Economics to Education: Fareed Zakaria

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Reform Is a Must. Force It With a ‘No’ on Measure H.

UP NEXT

Trump’s Biggest Con: Pretending to Support American Workers

UP NEXT

Why Newsom Wants Taxpayers to Waste Millions on Big Hollywood Subsidies

UP NEXT

How Bad Do You Want It, Ladies?

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

2 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

14 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

14 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

15 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

15 hours ago

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

15 hours ago

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

15 hours ago

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

15 hours ago

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

16 hours ago

Lyft Pays $2.1 Million to Settle Case Alleging the Ride-Hailing Service Deceived Drivers

16 hours ago

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

Board seats on four Tulare County irrigation districts will be on the ballot this election. Lisa McEwen SJV Water At least one of the dis...

35 seconds ago

36 seconds ago

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

15 mins ago

Shy Pup Finds Hope with Foster Family, Evasion from Euthanasia

59 mins ago

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

2 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

14 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

14 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

15 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

A resident outside an apartment complex that was destroyed by Russian bombardment in Siversk, in Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
15 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

Search

Send this to a friend