# Recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom of California **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 19, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239 "2021-03-19T13:27:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/341 "2021-09-17T00:20:36Z")
Cha-ching! > **[California recall price tag could hit $300 million. Some say it was a waste...](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-16/how-much-did-the-california-recall-cost-maybe-300-million)** > > Gov. Gavin Newsom survived the recall attempt by a big margin, and that has led some to question whether the system works and if changes are needed. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/342 "2021-09-17T00:52:19Z")
I think that the best solution is as follows: If the recall passes, the LtGov takes control until a new election. The new election is the top two vote getters in the second part of the recall. If one of the vote getters gets more than 50% in the original recall, they take control and there isn’t a second election. Elder got such an big share of he vote because a large number of people who voted NO skipped the second part. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/343 "2021-09-17T04:35:11Z")
Sorry, I don’t think that’s even a particularly good solution, let alone the best. I think earlier posters on this subject have the right idea: limit the possibility of recall of any statewide elective office to conditions where the incumbent has done something that legally disqualifies them from holding that office\*, and those things should be clearly defined in the statute, if not in the state constitution (preferable but probably harder to pass). Recall should not be a political tool, and limiting recall in this way is the only way to do it. \*My wording here is not intended to be definitive, I leave that to legal experts, but I think the intent is clear enough. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/344 "2021-09-17T04:46:15Z")
Any solution should also address the ease with which a proposition can be put on the ballot in California. Right now there are consultants who can tell you exactly how much it will cost you to collect enough signatures to get almost anything on the ballot including a recall. With enough money you can get a proposition mandating the demolition of the Golden Gate Bridge. Just name it the Safe Navigation Proposition and have signature collectors ask people if they support the removal of nautical obstacles in San Francisco Bay. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/345 "2021-09-17T13:32:28Z")
For that matter, it’s high time the state took action against the terrible scourge of dihydrogen monoxide!: [Dihydrogen monoxide parody - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_parody) ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/346 "2021-09-17T17:05:04Z")
Given the horrendous flooding in the East and the South, that no longer brings the chuckles it once did. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/347 "2021-09-17T17:14:36Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > If the recall passes, the LtGov takes control until a new election. The new election is the top two vote getters in the second part of the recall. If one of the vote getters gets more than 50% in the original recall, they take control and there isn’t a second election. I don’t see the point in having the side-show side election at all. Just have the lieutenant governor replace the governor just like in cases of death, incapacity, or resignation. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/348 "2021-09-17T17:58:33Z")
As noted upthread, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor may be of different parties in California, creating a perverse incentive for the opposition party to have its LG take office through a recall forceout of the Governor, if that was how the law read. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/349 "2021-09-17T19:53:58Z")
The LA Times has a cool map of how different precincts voted. Teal means more yes on the recall votes; mustatd means more nos. Huntington Beach, our little slice of Trump Country, is unsurprisingly blue-gray, as is Beverly Hills and some other obscenely wealthy neighborhoods, while much of LA/Orange County is mellow yellow. But then there’s this weird bright teal spot right where Universal Studios is. I clicked on it, and it turns out there was just one vote from that precinct–a yes, obviously. Kinda funny. > **[How did Los Angeles-area neighborhoods vote in the California recall? We...](https://www.latimes.com/projects/newsom-recall-election-results-southern-california-analysis/)** > > Explore the latest precinct results from Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/350 "2021-09-17T20:33:25Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > As noted upthread, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor may be of different parties in California, creating a perverse incentive for the opposition party to have its LG take office through a recall forceout of the Governor, if that was how the law read. This almost never happens, and if it did, so what? The Lieutenant Governor is who the voters have decided should replace the Governor in his absence. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/351 "2021-09-17T20:39:36Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > But then there’s this weird bright teal spot right where Universal Studios is. I clicked on it, and it turns out there was just one vote from that precinct–a yes, obviously. Kinda funny. I moused around and found multiple precincts on the map with 100% of the votes for “yes” and it was just one person. Newport Beach and LA had one, and Costa Mesa actually has 2 different districts doing that. There are probably more but then I got bored looking. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/352 "2021-09-17T21:04:17Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > the Governor and Lieutenant Governor may be of different parties in California > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The Lieutenant Governor is who the voters have decided should replace the Governor in his absence. Agreeing with Elmer. The Lt Gov got at least 50%+1 of the vote. The current law allows someone to become governor with basically no support at all: 49% vote “no” and don’t select a replacement (which is what the Democrats were urging (except they wanted 51%, of course)). 50 people on the replacement ballot, so someone could not inconceivably “win” with 20% of the people who selected a replacement. So, welcome Governor 10% (and if only 40% of the eligible voters bother to vote, then (assuming I didn’t screw up the math) Governor 4% (40 people \* 51% voting for a replacement \* 20% voting for the winner)). ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/353 "2021-09-17T22:26:08Z")
If ranked choice voting has a place anywhere in our election system it would seem that the California recall election is where it would be. Drop the “should the governor be recalled?” question and just have the current office holder, lieutenant governor, bill board diva, and right wing kook all on the ballot together along with everyone else. If some people don’t like the governor because he is too liberal and others because he’s not liberal enough, but he’s everyone’s second choice, then just stick with him. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/354 "2021-09-18T00:31:43Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > But then there’s this weird bright teal spot right where Universal Studios is. I clicked on it, and it turns out there was just one vote from that precinct–a yes, obviously. Kinda funny. So someone lives at Universal Studios? I bet it’s Norman Bates’s mother. She’d _definitely_ vote to recall the Democratic governor. …Assuming the _Psycho_ house is still on the property; it was there the last time I visited but that was years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/355 "2021-09-18T15:33:33Z")
How the failed recall could help Newsom as he heads into his reelection campaign: > **[California recall could boost Newsom's clout for 2022](https://www.aol.com/news/california-recall-could-boost-newsoms-131757442-180557923.html)** > > The recall election that once threatened to derail California Gov. Gavin Newsom's political future has instead given it new life, offering a rare midterm vote of confidence that could fuel an ambitious legislative agenda featuring new coronavirus... ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/356 "2021-09-19T05:27:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > For that matter, it’s high time the state took action against the terrible scourge of dihydrogen monoxide!: [Dihydrogen monoxide parody - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_parody) > [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Given the horrendous flooding in the East and the South, that no longer brings the chuckles it once did. The terrible scourge of dihydrogen monoxide is largely a non-issue in California lately, as there is so little of it to be found here anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239/357 "2021-09-20T13:00:33Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The terrible scourge of dihydrogen monoxide is largely a non-issue in California lately Another victory for the Democrats! And yet, all anyone does is whine: my lawn! my crops! I’m thirsty! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recall-of-gov-gavin-newsom-of-california/938239.md?page=17)