The odds of Gov. Gavin Newsom facing a recall campaign are looking more likely as the group seeking to oust the governor announced Thursday they have collected 2 million signatures - far more than they need ahead of a March 17th deadline.
"The People of California are speaking loud and clear," Orrin Heatlie, the lead proponent of Recall Gavin Newsom said in a press release. "We have cleared another milestone. Politics as usual in California are over as we know it to be."
The campaign to recall Newsom still has another week or so to gather signatures, which officials across California have already begun to verify. On Monday, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber's office reported it had so far verified 668,168 signatures with the process on-going. Data from the Secretary of State's office shows officials have been able to verify around 84 percent of the signatures received so far.
State officials must verify at least 1,495,709 signatures - or 12 percent of the votes cast in the 2018 gubernatorial election - in order for the recall to proceed.
The movement to oust Newsom from office is in response to the governor's actions taken during the coronavirus pandemic, including business closures and his decision to dine out at a restaurant after asking Californians to remain only with people in their households. The group also takes issue with Newsom's position on gun rights and immigration policies.
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