California: Secretary of State Reports Recall meets signature requirement -- petitioners have 1,626,042 valids

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has confirmed that petitioners have turned in enough signatures to get the recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom on the ballot. Currently, the petitioners have 1,626,042 signatures and they need 1,495,709.  The county clerks have until April 29 to finish their count of signatures -- this total is actually quite important for the next stage of the recall effort. Newsom will be able to gather signatures to get the recall removed from the ballot.

This is clearly a big historical moment. This is clearly the most signatures ever needed for a recall in the US (the Venezuelan Presidential recall in 2004 actually needed more signatures). It may be the highest bar ever passed for any position or initiative of any kind in the US. 

On the signature removal front, I have an op-ed in the Hill tomorrow that goes through the history. It has worked in the past, so the effort should not be dismissed. However, one challenge Newsom will face is that he will not have the names of any of the signers, as that information is not released to the public (a big difference than Wisconsin). There has been a proposal to change that law, but it is currently going nowhere, so that limits the options for the signature removal effort.