A beginner’s guide to the Sept. 14 CA recall election

Everything you need to know about the monumental recall election

Jenny Han / ASST. NEWS EDITOR / The USD Vista

Recall elections are not new to the state of California; there have been 179 attempts since 1913. This particular recall election, however, is unique due to COVID-19 and the policies that may be enacted. However, the way that recalls come about is still the same. 

Vivan Mateos-Zuniga, USD senior and president of USD Votes (a non-partisan, volunteer organization dedicated to helping USD voters), explained how the recall process works. 

“When a governor gets recalled, it means that their constituents are unhappy with their performance and want to end their term before it is set to officially expire,” Mateos-Zuniga explained. In Newsom’s case, his term would end early in 2022 if the recall election was successful rather than in 2023 when his term is supposed to end. 

The first step of any recall is gaining signatures via an official petition calling for the removal of the elected official. According to ABC10, the final number of signatures gained petitioning for Newsom’s recall is over 1.7 million people: more than the required 12% of the total number of voters. From there, the California Secretary of State holds a special California Gubernatorial Recall Election that determines if registered voters of that state want to recall the current elected official. On the ballot, there are two questions: 

Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor and if so, which candidate is to succeed Newsom as Governor?

For Jack Uribe, USD senior and current secretary of USD Republicans, there are several reasons why he is in favor of recalling Newsom. One reason he states is the way Newsom handles taxpayer’s money.

 “We are the highest tax state in the nation. Last year, Sacramento collected under Gavin Newsom over $170 billion in state tax revenue,” Uribe says. “And where is it going to solve our problems that we’ve seen under Governor Newsom?” Uribe specifically cites increasing gas prices, infrastructure, rolling blackouts, and homelessness as problems that Newsom has failed to address with the citizen’s tax dollars. 

Secondly, Uribe also strongly disagrees with the way that Newsom handled COVID-19 for K-12 public schools. He believes that the school closures were going to be a setback especially for younger children who need in-person learning environments to have what he considers to be a “proper and sufficient education.” Uribe considers not allowing these children to have that opportunity as a denial of their constitutional right.

His third reason is personal. The day after his grandmother died, he discovered the picture of Governor Newsom at the French Laundry restaurant. “That was just a slap in the face,” Uribe said. “And that’s when I realized we need to vote this guy out because he is a tyrant and he does not deserve to be holding the office of governor of the great state of California, one of the most populous and one of the biggest economies in our nation.”

Mary-Logan Miske, USD senior and the president of USD Republicans, shared similar sentiments to Uribe. She added about the importance of the nature of the recall.

 “I think a lot of people didn’t know that there really would be that many signatures and that many people that would turn up,” Miske said. “It’s crazy to see that there are people from both sides that sign. So that has a lot of power, that there is that unity there, and it should be acknowledged.”

Neither USD Republicans nor the Republican party have officially endorsed any candidate but both Uribe and Miske agreed that Larry Elder is their personal choice. For Uribe, Elder is his pick because of his strong presence in politics from his radio show and his very staunch conservative agenda and transparency he shows. For Miske, she said that she would vote for Elder if she was a CA voter because she feels that Elder would solve the issues that Uribe had mentioned earlier. On top of that, she likes how Elder is pro-life and against defunding the police. Uribe also noted Kevin Faulconer (the former San Diego mayor) and Kevin Kyle as two other popular alternatives. 

However, not all people agree. One person is Jadyn Bell, a USD senior who is the founder and the Vice President of USD Democrats. One reason that she is against the recall is that she believes the choices Newsom made in regards to COVID-19 were fair and reasonable. 

“Newsom’s response to the current COVID-19 pandemic is no different than that of other governors—masks were mandated and businesses were temporarily shut down,” Bell said. “Our local politicians are supposed to be making the hard decisions to protect their communities and Newsom acted the best way he saw fit amongst state-wide panic.” 

Another reason why Bell is against the recall election is that she sees it as a way of undermining the election process.

 “America witnessed the chaos that erupted from the delusions of a fraudulent 2020 presidential election, and Californians are seeing it again with the Newsom recall even though he was freely and fairly voted into office by the majority vote,” Bell said. Because the ratio of registered Democrat to Republican voters is 2:1 and the majority of state legislatures identify as Democrats, “With a Republican as governor it begs the question whether anything would ever get done or if we would just be met with more partisan standoffs,” Bell added. As a result, the recall election only adds unnecessary strife to an already “divided and bipartisan society and is a direct attack on our democratic values.” 

Third, Bell views the recall election as being a waste of resources. “Governor Newsom would have already been up for reelection in 2022 but this election, a year early, is costing Californians $276 million which is almost comical given how their party stance is always lowering costs and taxes,” Bell says. 

Kaiya Mitchell, USD sophomore and the Communications Co-Director of USD Democrats, also shared similar views to Bell. Mitchell believes that the recall election is an attempt by the Republicans for undermining the results of a fair election.

 “A recall, or the impeachment of officials, should be for emergencies only,” Mitchell said. “In my view, while this started as a partisan issue, it has become a question of the sanctity of elections and whether we will continue to uphold the foundational principles of democracy that our founders put into place.” 

Mitchell also believes that removing Newsom from office is untimely. “With COVID cases increasing, the economic downturn, and reports of racism skyrocketing, California needs continuity at this moment more than ever,” Mitchell says. “We especially need people who are fully aware and in tune with these issues and have been working to combat them”. 

Regardless of one’s political standing or decision, voting for the recall election is critical. “We are a campus that is in the state of California,” Mateos-Zuniga said. “The governor has a ton of power, and the decisions that he will be making in office are going to have massive impacts on us, whether it’s in regards to COVID procedures, or economic decisions. He has a lot of power over our daily lives.” It’s really important that wherever we stand politically, we take the opportunity to express our opinion and to use our votes wisely, whatever our priorities are.” 

There are two ways that people can vote for the election. The first method is through the mail-in ballots. Any CA resident who was registered to vote in the 2020 Presidential election was sent a mail-in ballot to their registered residency. If an individual chooses to vote using a mail-in ballot, ensure that the ballot gets postmarked before or on Election Day (Sept. 14) and follow all the instructions given along with the ballot. The closest place you can send your mail-in ballot on campus is at the Mail Center, behind the Immaculata.

If one chooses to utilize the mail center, Mateos-Zuniga encourages USD community members to submit the ballot before September 13 to avoid overwhelming staff and ensuring that the ballot is postmarked on time. Another option is to use mail drop-off ballot boxes that are present in public libraries, community centers, and USPS (United States Postal Service). The closest public library and community center to USD are Clairemont Library and the San Diego Humane Society respectively. If you choose to drop your ballot off at a dropbox, make sure that it’s marked as an “Official Ballot Drop Box.”

An alternative is to vote in person on Election Day. The location for in-person voting has yet to be determined. 

For more information, or guidance on the voting process, USD Votes will be tabling in front of La Paloma on Sept. 9.