Welcome to the Wednesday, July 7, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- What’s next in the recall election of California Gov. Gavin Newsom
- Adams leads Garcia in latest release of ranked-choice voting results for New York’s Democratic mayoral primary
- New Maryland superintendent of schools took office on July 1
What’s next in the recall election of California Gov. Gavin Newsom
Last week—on July 1—California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D) announced that the recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will be held on Sept. 14. So what happens next?
The recall election will present voters with two questions. The first will ask whether Newsom should be recalled, and the second will ask who should succeed Newsom if he is recalled. If a majority of voters approve the first question, Newsom will be recalled from office, and the candidate with the most votes on the second question becomes governor. In the 2003 recall of then-Gov. Gray Davis (D), Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen among 135 candidates as Davis’ replacement.
The secretary of state’s office issued a recall election calendar and a list of qualifications for running for governor in this election. Here are the highlights:
Anyone who wants to run as a candidate in the recall election must:
- be a registered voter and U.S. citizen,
- file copies of each federal income tax return from the last five years with the secretary of state’s office,
- not have been convicted of felony charges of bribery, perjury, or theft of public money, and
- have not already served as governor of the state for two terms.
In order to appear on the ballot, candidates must have either 1) paid a filing fee of $4,194.94—2% of the governor’s current salary—or 2) submitted signatures from 7,000 registered voters to their county elections office by yesterday—July 6. Candidates could also submit a combination of registered voters’ signatures to cover all or any prorated portion of the filing fee.
The deadline for candidates to file other documentation, such as their past five years’ tax returns, personal financial disclosures, nomination signatures, and a declaration of candidacy is July 16. The secretary of state’s office will publish the names of all official candidates on its website on July 17.
Gov. Newsom signed legislation in February authorizing counties to send mail ballots to all voters for any elections held this year. California enacted legislation in August 2020 to send mail-in ballots to all voters in last year’s general elections in response to the coronavirus pandemic. County election officials will begin mailing ballots on Aug. 16. Counties that are opening vote centers to allow in-person voting must have them open from Sept. 4 through Sept. 10. Voters may also cast ballots at vote centers or their county election offices on Sept. 14. Ballots postmarked by Election Day will still be counted if they are received by Sept. 21.
Recall efforts have taken place targeting 43 officeholders in California this year. Two efforts are underway to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. In each, recall organizers must submit at least 51,325 valid signatures to trigger a recall election. The deadline for the first effort is Aug. 11.
Adams leads Garcia in latest release of ranked-choice voting results for New York’s Democratic mayoral primary
On Tuesday evening, the New York City Board of Elections released the second set of unofficial ranked-choice voting results for the Democratic mayoral primary. This batch of results included a majority of the 125,000 absentee ballots not factored into last week’s release.
As of 9 p.m. EST last night, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams led former New York City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia after the eighth and final round by roughly 8,400 votes, 50.5% to 49.5%. CNN and the Associated Press projected Adams as the winner last night.
Up to 3,699 defective ballots, if cured, remain to be counted.
Last week, Adams, Garcia, and attorney Maya Wiley—who was eliminated in the seventh round—filed preliminary lawsuits to preserve their right to request a review of the ballots.
Follow our coverage at the link below for election results and the latest updates.
New Maryland superintendent of schools took office on July 1
Mohammed Choudhury took office as the new Maryland superintendent of schools on July 1. The state board of education appointed Choudhury to a four-year term on May 29. He replaces Karen Salmon, who stepped down at the end of her term on June 30. Salmon’s term was originally set to end on June 30, 2020, but it was extended for one year due to the pandemic.
The superintendent of schools is a statewide office responsible for overseeing and coordinating the state’s elementary and secondary schools. The position exists in all 50 states — it is elected in 12 and appointed in the remaining 38. Of those 38 states, the state board of education appoints the superintendent in 18, the governor appoints the position in 18, and the state board of regents appoints the superintendent in two.
