The San Luis Obispo County League of Women Voters hosted a virtual Lunch with the League today to help voters understand the September 14 recall election for California Governor Gavin Newsom.
There have been 55 attempted governor recalls in California’s history. Including the current recall, only two have qualified for the ballot.
The last recall happened in 2003 when Governor Gray Davis was ousted and succeeded by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
So what’s on this recall ballot?
All registered voters should have received their ballot in the mail earlier this month with two questions on it: Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled from the office of Governor? And if the Governor is recalled by a majority vote, who should succeed him?
Voter Service Chair Julie Rodewald said selecting a candidate on your ballot to replace the Governor doesn’t necessarily imply support for the recall.
“The two questions are not connected,” Rodewald said. “You can vote on either one of them or you can vote on both. And a vote for a candidate does not cancel a ‘no’ vote on the recall question, nor does it imply that you wanted to vote yes on the recall.”
Voters are returning to traditional polling places for this election but Rodewald said, there’s a bit of a twist. There will be a reduced number of polling locations and voters are being encouraged to “skip the line” as a safety precaution.
“You can return it by mail. The county pays the postage so there’s no reason to put postage on it. You can drop it off at a secured drop box. There are 17 of those throughout the county. You can also turn it in at any polling place,” Rodewald said.
Ballots returned by mail or by drop box must be sent by September 14. Those dropped at a polling place can be turned in any time between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the same date.
Drive-by drop-offs will also be available on election day throughout San Luis Obispo County at the following locations:
- County Elections Office in San Luis Obispo
- South County Regional Center
- Cambria Veterans Hall
- Morro Bay Veterans Hall
- Atascadero Lake Pavilion
- Masonic Complex in Paso Robles
August 30 is the last day to register to vote in the recall election. If you aren’t yet registered, you can do so at slovote.com.
