AP18:005
For Immediate Release
January 5, 2018
Contact:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575
Recall Signatures for Senate District 29 Certified
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla today certified that enough valid voter signatures were submitted to proceed with a recall election in Senate District 29, which includes parts of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties.
To qualify for the ballot, the proponents of the recall of Senator Josh Newman needed 63,593 valid petition signatures, which is equal to 20% of the total votes cast in the last Senate District 29 race in November 2016. Of the 94,801 signatures submitted by the proponents, 69,832 were determined to be valid.
Now that the Secretary of State has certified that the recall election may go forward, the governor must set a date for the election to be held later this year. Under California law*, the Governor may call it for between 60 and 80 days from today. The Governor also has the option of consolidating the recall with a regularly scheduled election, as long as that election occurs within 180 days from today and covers over 50% of the registered voters in Senate District 29.
*California Constitution Article II, Section 15; California Elections Code 11110
A recall election includes two parts. A voter may vote on both parts, or only one.
The first part will ask, “Shall Josh Newman be recalled (removed) from the office of Senate District 29?” If more voters mark “yes” than “no,” then the Senator will be recalled. If more voters mark “no,” he will remain in office.
The second part will list the names of candidates seeking to replace Senator Josh Newman in the event he is recalled. If the Senator is recalled, the candidate who receives the most votes will be elected; it is not necessary to receive a majority of the votes cast. That person may be sworn in after the election results are certified.
Once the recall election date is set, the Secretary of State’s office will post a detailed election calendar at: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/
Candidates seeking to replace Senator Newman must file nomination papers with county elections officials 59 days before the election. The Secretary of State will certify the candidate list 55 days before the election.
The first recall election in California was held in 1913. Click here for more historical information on California recalls.
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