The date for the recall election that could take California Gov. Gavin Newsom out of office is officially on the books.
The state’s lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis, announced Thursday that the special gubernatorial recall election will take place on Sept. 14, 2021.
"Although the window of time from which I could select a date was narrow, I believe we have chosen a fair and reasonable date for this election to take place," Kounalakis said in a statement.
"It has always been my intention to choose an election date that gives election officials and the public ample time to ensure a smooth election with broad participation.
"Conducting this election on September 14 fulfills my statutory requirements, and provides the time needed for officials to prepare and inform voters,” she added.
Earlier Thursday the California Secretary of State certified the recall petition results after 1.7 million signatures were verified, far more than the 1.5 million state law requires.
JUST IN CA SOS certified the results of the gubernatorial recall petition and the Lt. Gov set the date for the #2021CARecall: September 14, 2021! Follow us or your county elections office for updates as we prepare for the first recall election of a governor in 20 years! pic.twitter.com/V7WdwCtubc
— CA SOS Vote (@CASOSvote) July 1, 2021
The timeline, set by a fellow Democrat, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, also severely restricts the ability of prospective challengers to get onto the ballot, leaving only about two weeks for them to join the race to replace Mr. Newsom. More than 50 candidates are already on the ballot, with a handful of well-funded Republicans seriously campaigning. (NYT)
The recall election will be the second time in California's history that residents will vote on removing a sitting governor. The last time it happened was in 2003 when Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced Gray Davis in a recall election.