CVF in the News

By Chris Nichols , Capital Public Radio, August 16, 2021

California’s recall election will determine whether Gov. Gavin Newsom remains in office or is removed and replaced by another candidate. As voters make their choice, they may encounter misinformation or confusion about how the recall process works. 

To help sort through the facts, PolitiFact California debunked false claims about the election and demystified how it works in our guide to misinformation about the recall. 

Before we call out some false claims, let’s explain the basics on how to vote.  

The recall ballot will have two parts:

By John Myers and Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, August 9, 2021

Excerpts:

For Gov. Gavin Newsom, the only thing that matters in the recall election he faces is how California voters fill out the part of the ballot that can keep him in office. Whether they understand that they also have the right to select a potential replacement isn’t part of his equation.

But the singular focus of Newsom and prominent Democrats could be a high-stakes gamble with the party’s political and policy agenda. It might also leave millions of voters who soon will receive a ballot in the mail unaware they can cast a vote on both of the recall ballot’s questions — even if their preference is to retain Newsom as governor.

“I think it’s unfortunate that the Democratic Party is not giving voters any guidance on what to do on the second question,” said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. “It’s going to leave a lot of people confused.”

By Scott Shafer, KQED, July 12, 2021

Excerpts:

A superior court judge in Sacramento on Monday denied a request by Gov. Gavin Newsom to force California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to include his Democratic Party affiliation on the recall election ballot, despite the fact the Newsom missed a filing deadline.

In an 11-page decision, Judge James Arguelles said "Secretary Weber had no ministerial duty to accept the untimely designation."

The decision comes after a lawsuit filed two weeks ago by Newsom's lawyers asked the court to compel Weber — a Newsom appointee — to include the governor's party affiliation next to his name on all recall ballots sent to voters.

By Anisca Miles, Sonseeahray Tonsall, Fox 40, June 28, 2021

Excerpts:

President Joe Biden’s hopes to standardize some of what Americans can expect at the polls reached a hurdle when the Senate wouldn’t allow the For the People Act to be fully debated.

Audits of last fall’s federal election are ongoing and the torrent of other efforts to prove the legitimacy of the results have not subsided, even in the face of repeated court decisions to the contrary.

Kim Alexander, the founder and president of the California Voter Foundation, joined Sonseeahray to talk about the state of voting in the U.S. and the foundation’s recent study about the harassment of election officials

 

 

By Kim Alexander and Grace Gordon, electionline Weekly, June 10, 2021

Imagine if your job responsibilities caused strangers to call you and threaten you and your family with violence. Public servants performing one of the most crucial functions in our society—the administration of the vote—are being subjected to exactly that.

A new report released this week by the California Voter Foundation sheds light on the serious and dangerous problem of harassment faced by U.S. election officials.

“Documenting and Addressing Harassment of Election Officials” features findings from interviews with eleven election officials from six states and eight election experts from different sectors. The election officials were selected based on their experience with or perspective of harassment. Their identities are anonymous for their protection and privacy.

By John Myers, Los Angeles Times, June 10, 2021

Exerpts:

An analysis released Thursday projects the recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom will cost at least $215 million, less than what elections officials initially estimated but a large enough price tag that local governments across California will need the state to pick up the tab.

Legislative leaders quickly seized on the estimate provided by the state Department of Finance as fulfilling a mandate under state law to fully assess the costs of the recall — potentially speeding up by some two months the special election in which voters could oust Newsom from office.

Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said Thursday that they will include the projected cost in the state budget that must be enacted by the end of the month.

KQED's Natalia Navarro interviews Kim Alexander about CVF's new report documenting and addressing harassment of election officials

By KQED News June 8, 2021

Hear Kim Alexander's interview with KQED's Natalia Navarro about the new CVF report documenting and addressing harassment of U.S. election officials resulting from the 2020 presidential election
(audio file

 

 

By Joe Garofoli San Francisco Chronicle May 9, 2021

Excerpts:

Californians shouldn’t look at voter suppression as something happening only in faraway states, like Georgia, Texas and Florida. A more subtle, insidious form of the fallout from Donald Trump’s big lie about widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential race is permeating California.

The lie is gaining enough traction to alarm voting officials, starting with California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. She’s met with nearly every county registrar of voters since taking office in February, and many told her that right-wing agitators are making their job more difficult.

“They’re attacking almost every registrar of voters that I have in the state of California who is trying to do their job,” Weber told the Black Caucus at the California Democratic Party convention recently.

By Guy Marzorati, NPR, April 27, 2021

California's top election official has announced that organizers of a campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom have submitted enough valid signatures to place the question before voters later this year.

- - - - - - - - 

NEWSOM: ...Because in these elections, who knows what can happen?

MARZORATI: It's not lost on Newsom that the only other governor to face a recall in California, fellow Democrat Gray Davis, was removed by voters in 2003. But Davis faced very low approval ratings and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the ballot. Newsom's approval rating stands at 53% among likely voters according to the Public Policy Institute of California. This year's recall is likely to set records for its cost.

KIM ALEXANDER: The registrars are anticipating that it could cost as much as $400 million to conduct this special recall election.

By John Myers, Los Angeles Times, April 26, 2021

Exceprts:

It’s well known that elections have consequences. They also have price tags.

With signs pointing to a special election this fall at which voters could remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office, local officials from across California believe the cost of conducting the election could run as high as $400 million.

The estimate is four to five times higher than rough guesses bandied about in recent months and is equal to a cost of about $18 per registered voter — more than double what local elections officials say was spent on California elections in 2018.

It’s a price they say counties, which are struggling to cover pandemic-related costs for health and human services programs, will need the state to cover.

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