The voters of California have decided to keep their Democratic governor in office, voting overwhelmingly “no” in the referendum organized by his detractors to obtain his dismissal, according to estimates released Tuesday, September 14 evening by the American media.
The “no” got about two-thirds of the vote after counting more than 60% of the ballots, according to CNN and NBC. With such a lead, the two channels believe that Democrat Gavin Newsom will remain governor of the most populous state in the United States and complete his term scheduled until 2023.
Polling stations closed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday (5 a.m. Wednesday morning in Paris), but many voters, around 9 million out of 22 registered in total, voted early, which made it possible to obtain first projections fast.
The outcome of the poll is not only a victory for Governor Gavin Newsom, weakened by the Covid crisis and the health measures decreed to stem the pandemic, but also for the entire Democratic camp.
Supported by Biden in person
Proof of the national stake of this referendum in a state equivalent to the fifth economic power in the world, President Joe Biden put on his hat as the boss of the Democratic camp and went to California on Monday to support Mr. Newsom.
Using a provision of the California Constitution, disgruntled citizens – very quickly rallied by the Republican Party – had obtained this “Recall ballot” allowing a governor to be dismissed outside of any electoral calendar, after having collected more than 1.5 million signatures. 18 years ago, a similar vote allowed Arnold Schwarzenegger to conquer California by bringing down the then Democratic governor.
Californians in favor of the referendum denounce excessive taxes, a “Elite” Democrat perceived as contemptuous and individual freedoms flouted by the authorities since the start of the pandemic. Opponents saw it as a maneuver to take command of a fiercely democratic state, out of reach for the conservatives in a classic election.
Like Donald Trump, most of the Republican candidates who hoped to take the governor’s place had started contesting the ballot and crying out electoral fraud even before the end of voting operations, a strategy that has now become commonplace in the conservative camp.
Favorite in case of victory of “Yes” – voters had the choice between 46 candidates, the vast majority of them Republicans -, ultra-conservative radio host Larry Elder has so far refused to say whether he would accept the results of the poll. He launched a website inviting his supporters to denounce any irregularities they witness in order to preserve “Integrity” of the vote.
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