As signature collection ends, California heads toward recall

ROCKLIN, Calif. (AP) — A plodding, months-long review kicks off Wednesday to confirm what appears inevitable: California Gov. Gavin Newsom will face a recall election that could oust the Democrat before his first term ends.

The announcement Monday that Newsom was beginning to raise money to defend his seat seemed to confirm that he believes organizers behind the recall have collected sufficient petition signatures to place the proposal on the ballot.

Still, a series of bureaucratic checkpoints must be cleared before the secretary of state’s office determines that the requirements for scheduling a recall election have been satisfied. The agency is headed by Shirley Weber, a former Democratic legislator Newsom appointed in December.

Recall supporters are required to submit nearly 1.5 million signatures to place the proposal before voters. Organizers say they have collected more than 2 million signatures since starting in June. Collections surged in the fall and winter as anger intensified about Newsom's handling of the pandemic.

Newsom and his Democratic allies have cast the recall attempt as a politically driven power grab. He tweeted Monday that he won’t be distracted by a “partisan” recall attempt “but I will fight it.”

Wednesday marks the cutoff for organizers to submit signatures to county election officials, who have until April 29 to verify the authenticity and notify the secretary of state with the results.

However, given the various legal hoops that must be cleared, it could take until September before an election date is scheduled, which strategists on both sides expect to be set for later this fall, perhaps November.

Recall organizers believe the Newsom and leaders in the Democratic-run Legislature will do everything possible to delay the...