Leaders of the effort to remember the governor of California. Gavin Newsom
Gavin NewsomWhite House says Shalanda Young could serve as director of OMB, California, to set aside 40 percent of vaccine doses in the most at-risk areas. (D) said Sunday that they have collected enough signatures to spark a special election this year.
At a press conference, organizers announced that the effort has garnered 1.95 million signatures in support of the withdrawal more than a week before the March 17 deadline. Leaders of the withdrawal movement said they still plan to try to reach 2 million before that date.
“That’s more than enough to get this initiative to qualify for a special election later this year to let people finally decide … what will happen to the fate and future of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Randy Economy, one said the political adviser who worked on the effort.
“Californians are constantly more dissatisfied with the way their state works,” he added.
Election officials will have to confirm that nearly 1.5 million of those signatures come from registered voters in California before the special election begins.
In early February, the Secretary of State’s office determined that about 83 percent of the signatures collected so far had been verified, The Sacramento Bee reported. If the rate remained the same with all petitions, it would be enough to get an election.
One of the leaders in the effort, Mike Netter, said about 1.6 million of the signatures were collected by volunteers.
“I don’t think you’ve ever seen a volunteer movement like this,” he said.
“They are literally people from all walks of life, all parties, all religions,” he said. “We have a widespread diversity that gathers and unites us (in) something, and that’s the fact that California needs a new governor.”
The Newsom office did not immediately return any requests for comment.
The retreat movement gained strength as criticism has been raised against Newsom for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, particularly restrictions against meetings and in certain companies.
Newsom won the 2018 government race with 62% support for the state, where Democrats have super-majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
A survey by the University of California-Berkeley Institute of Government Studies in January determined that 36% of respondents said they would vote against Newsom in a special election. Forty-five percent indicated they would be on the side of the governor if the withdrawal election were to take place.