Sebastian Hughes, Reporter
Gavin Newsom
Democrats in California’s Legislature are taking steps to change the recall process in order to aid Gov. Gavin Newsom at the polls, the Associated Press reported.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis can set an earlier election date if the state Legislature removes legislative review, which would set an earlier voting date, potentially aiding the governor’s current position in the race, the AP reported.
Democrats previously lengthened the recall process when California state Sen. Josh Newman faced a recall election in 2018, the AP reported. The election date was pushed back to coincide with the 2018 primary, with the hope that higher turnout would aid the Democrat.
Newman lost the recall, though he did regain his seat in 2020.
“They’re trying to create a situation that is most favorable for the partisan outcome that they favor,” Jack Citrin, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told the AP. He noted that changing the calendar threatens to reinforce the narrative that politicians will do whatever they want to stay in power.
Joshua Spivak, a recall elections expert and senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College, said the effort could backfire by giving Democrats less time to motivate their voters, while Republicans have already gathered 1.7 million signatures to remove Newsom.
Spivak pointed to Newman’s loss as proof of why Democrats should not mess with the schedule. “That really suggested maybe we don’t know what we’re doing. You’re playing with fire by doing that,” Spivak told the AP.
“Democrats’ rule changes failed to save Josh Newman from getting recalled four years ago, and voters aren’t going to fall for their trickery now either as they try and change the rules in the hopes of saving Gavin Newsom,” the California Republican Party wrote in a press release earlier this month. State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, a potential recall contender, told the AP that Democrats were trying to “ram through a new law.”
Katie Talbot, a spokesman for Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon, said the extra time was not needed to review the election costs, because they had already been decided to reimburse counties for the election, though she did acknowledge their actions could allow an earlier recall, according to the AP.
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“Playing with fire?”
Let them burn!
Politicians are so short-sighted. I predicted when the Dems cut out the filibuster on appointments to the Supremes it was going to come back and bite them in the derrière, It sure did in the last couple of appointments of the Trump administration. Had they not eliminated the filibuster they would have been able to block the last two appointments until Trump’s term ran out.
Once again we see the same short-sightedness. They changed the rules and now the rule change have come back to bite them again. Didn’t someone say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome? Why do we continue to elect such nincompoops to tell us how to run our lives? Is it because the choices are so crummy to start with that is all we can wind up with.
I would like to see a ballot choice that says “None of the above: which would leave the seat open until the next primary election. What no representation you say? Well, I would rather leave the seat open than have some of the jackanapes we have “representing us.” Sorry, Ms. Legislator, you don’t represent any value in my life. In fact, you represent the antithesis of all I believe in.
It’s obvious your publication is very pro-GOP/anti-Democrat…but geez, do you have to make it so darn obvious (shaking my head). Doesn’t matter, because the Dems will win, all is good!
The democrats only win with fraud and cheating and lies, twisting all the truth and blaming innocent people of their crimes. We the people know them only too well, to bad that the democrats bribe evry one to help them with their frauds, including the scotus.
You should send your evidence of dems bribing SCOTUS to the Kraken lady and the Pillow guy. And maybe the Q guy (for Queer???) while you’re at it.
They’ll put an end to it and get Kim Jong Trump back in office
when he wins the election in November ’20… oops …on January 6, 2021… oops …in August 2021… oops … whenever the Q guy claims next. Although the Q guy has a pretty poor track record so I wouldn’t hold my breath.We The American people know that the Democrats stole this election from we the people through the shenanigans they’ve pulled on 11.3.20, we know Trump flipped California and it turned red on Election Night November 3rd. This election was rigged, it was a total fraud and a disaster if I might add. I will not call Biden president because he’s a illegitimate racist bastard. If anything, Trump is the real the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. President Donald J. Trump is our real President and the democrats are terrified to admit it
Doug D, do you think the current state of California is good? Highest overall taxation rate, most expensive gasoline, public worker pensions out of control, and homeless meth head from here to infinity.