No: Defeat the recall of Newsom, defend our state’s progress.

After Donald Trump won the Presidency in

2016, many Californians saw far too late the painful consequence of assuming that far-fetched election results couldn’t happen.

The recall election facing Gov. Gavin Newsom is bringing these lessons forward once again.

Just as in 2016, today’s leading GOP candidate in the recall is a right-wing media personality with no governing experience, a love of Stephen Miller, and a misogynistic bent.

Just as in 2016, we are facing a tight election. Every vote counts. And just as in 2016, should we fail to stop the recall, the result could permanently harm our pandemic survival, our climate resiliency, and more.

It’s harder to turn out the vote in a special election. But in this one, Republicans are fired up with the prospect of replacing a popular Democratic governor. For Democrats and independents, we must sound the alarm and wake up.

This week, ballots start arriving in mailboxes. We must encourage everyone to vote no on the ballot’s first question. This $276 million election was made possible by national GOP funders and extremist Q-Anon activists who filed the paperwork to start it. Today it’s on all of us to stop this mad

ness.

Let’s spell out the damage that could occur if we fail to vote “no” on the first question of the ballot — the core question of the recall.

If we fail to vote no, we will gut our COVID recovery and halt our vaccination progress. Gov. Newsom is leading one of the strongest vaccination efforts and economic recoveries in the world. By comparison, leading GOP candidates deny COVID science. They want to halt our vaccination programs and mask mandates. A “yes” vote on the first question would needlessly put our friends, family and coworkers’ lives at risk. A “no” vote would protect our safety at a time when we need it most.

If we fail to vote no, we will tear apart our climate action and the environmental regulations we need. At a recent GOP-led recall debate in Orange County, it was shocking to see GOP candidates attack our environmental protections while ignoring the horrific suffering that climate change is already inflicting on our canyons and coastline.

A “yes” vote would halt climate progress with delays we cannot afford. A GOP governor could install anti-science ideologues in our state offices to dismantle programs from within. A “no” vote is crucial to protect climate work at this urgent moment in history.

If we fail to vote no on the first question, we will halt our economic recovery. Through his historic California Comeback Plan and $76 billion budget surplus, Gov. Newsom is confronting wealth inequality head-on. From universal Pre-K and free school meals to the largest small business tax refunds in state history, our governor brings experience and tenacity to lead boldly.

It’s hard to find similarly forward-thinking ideas among the leading GOP candidates. Their campaigns are driven by criticism, fear mongering, and stunts. We can expect their governance to be the same.

If we fail to vote no on the first question, we risk turning back the clock on rights we cherish. This election poses a terrifying risk for many Californians, including workers, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and women. The leading GOP candidate has said women aren’t smart enough to be in politics. He mentored Stephen Miller, a hint of the harm that immigrant communities could soon endure. Some GOP candidates want the minimum wage to be $0 and oppose bargaining rights for workers.

By failing to vote no on the first question, we risk giving control of the Senate to Mitch McConnell and grinding the Biden Administration’s progress to a halt, should anything

happen to 88-yearold Sen. Dianne Feinstein. We risk packing California’s federal courts with right-wing lifetime appointees. A GOP governor would have sole authority for these appointments.

Polls show this recall election is neck and neck. Your vote could be the margin of victory for our pandemic survival, our climate crisis, and control of the U.S. Senate.

Not voting does not impact the recall one way or the other. The only way to stop the recall is to participate and vote. By sitting this out, we open the possibility that a candidate receiving as little as 18% of the vote on the ballot’s second question could take control of the world’s sixth-largest economy.

Watch for that ballot in the mail this week. When it arrives, vote no on the first question. Gov. Newsom and the progress of our state sits on the crucial first question, and that’s where your vote could win or lose this recall. Vote no, and return that ballot as soon as possible.

Our COVID recovery, our climate, our rights, our voice in Congress — everything is on the line.

We must vote no on the first question to keep California moving forward.