Although the Secretary of State has verified enough signatures to trigger an election for the removal of Gavin Newsom as Governor, Recall Gavin 2020 organizers are concerned that the $400 million effort is at risk for fraud.
More than 2 million Californians have signed a petition to recall Gov. Newsom, according to Randy Economy, senior advisor and official media spokesman for RecallGavin2020.com
“We were told the reason it's so expensive and exorbitant is because we are in a pandemic and everybody has to vote from home,” Economy told the Southern California Record. “When you put politicians in charge of the rules of the game, this is what you get and every taxpayer in California should be outraged at what they're doing.”
Founders of Recall Gavin 2020
| provided
The $400 million cost analysis is based on county surveys conducted statewide by the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, according to media reports.
“All of a sudden Gov. Newsom opened up California magically but he’s kept the polling places locked down,” Economy said. “When you give a live ballot to every single voter in California, it increases the odds for fraud.”
As previously reported, a recall allows for an elected official to be removed from office before their term limit is up by a public vote much like a ballot initiative.
“Participating in an election means you get off your rusty-dusty, and you go out and vote, or you take the proper actions to request an absentee ballot in advance because when you hand out live ballots like they are wafers at a Catholic Mass, it's problematic,” Economy said in an interview.
The special election could occur as soon as November, according to Economy.
“We’ve been told that there would be a possibility of one of three dates,” he said. “The first would be Tuesday, November 2nd. The next possible date would be November 9th and the last possible day would be November 16th, but if it’s an all mail-in ballot election with no polling places, I don't even know what that looks like.”
It’s been widely reported that Republicans John Cox, San Diego Mayor Emeritus Kevin Faulconer, former Congressman Doug Ose, nonprofit executive Major Williams and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete turned transgender rights activist Caitlyn Jenner have announced their intention to run for governor in the special election to recall Gov. Newsom.
Economy added that former Los Angeles Mayor Emeritus Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, could also throw his hat in the ring.
“To run for governor in California, you need $4,000, some hopes or dreams, and your name will be on the ballot for governor,” Economy added. “I think that's fantastic. That's what democracy is all about. We're not doing this to subvert the will of the people. We're doing this to give everybody the opportunity to legally participate in democracy.”
Cox, a businessman, told KUSI News:
“Water and electricity are in short supply. That's all man-made because we haven't done desalination or built reservoirs and we decommissioned natural gas and nuclear. So, we're just relying on wind and solar. The fires are another disaster. We're not managing forests and we don't have enough of an air force to get these fires before they become infernos.”