Recall is not your ordinary election

By now people are receiving ballots for the proposed recall of Governor Newsom. Some voters may not understand how this election works. It is important that they do.

It is not like most elections. It is entirely possible Governor Newsom could be replaced by a candidate with less support than he has. With almost no support among the voters.

There are two parts to the election. The first part of the ballot asks if the governor should be recalled. If 50% plus one of the voters vote for the recall Governor Newsom is recalled. So far this sound like a normal election.

But the second part of the ballot asks which candidate should replace him. There is no runoff election and there is no requirement that that candidate have any particular level of support. There are 46 candidates on the ballot who will split the vote among them. There is no obvious leader. It is entirely possible that if Governor Newsom is recalled he could be replaced by a candidate with the support of only 10-15% of the electorate — while Governor Newsom may have the support of as much as 49% . This is fundamentally undemocratic.

If you oppose Governor Newsom you had an opportunity to vote against him in 2018 and will have another opportunity to vote against him in 2022 — just over a year from now. Help to preserve democracy in California. Don’t risk electing a governor with almost no support from California voters.

Vote NO on the recall!

— Tom Reed, Chico