California Gov. Gavin Newsom will remain in office

By Veronica Rocha, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Maureen Chowdhury, Mike Hayes and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 8:07 a.m. ET, September 15, 2021
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10:45 a.m. ET, September 14, 2021

NOW: Polls are open in California recall election

Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Polls have opened in California where voters will now decide whether to remove Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. PST (which is 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. ET) on Election Day.

Voters will be asked two questions on the recall ballot:

  • First, "yes" or "no" on whether they want to recall Newsom.
  • Second, they will be asked to select from a list of candidates from all parties who wish to replace him. Forty-six contenders have qualified for the ballot, but there is no well-known Democrat vying to replace him. (Newsom is not allowed to run as a replacement candidate).

If a majority vote "yes" on the first question, Newsom is removed from office and the top candidate on the second question takes over, even if that person receives only a fraction of the vote. If a majority votes against recalling Newsom, he keeps his job and the results of the second question are irrelevant.

There are no other initiatives or referenda on the ballot.

Millions of voters have already cast their ballots – all registered voters in the state were mailed one – and so far, Democrats have outpaced their registration advantage in the overwhelmingly blue state. But Republicans are counting on doing better on Election Day, because of their party's preference for voting in-person.

10:00 a.m. ET, September 14, 2021

Recall efforts are common, but they rarely get on the ballot

Analysis from CNN's Zachary B. Wolf

There have been 55 aimed at California governors since 1913. But the one against Gavin Newsom is only the second attempt to recall a sitting governor in California history to reach the ballot after voters recalled Gray Davis, a Democrat, in 2003 and replaced him with Arnold Schwarzenegger, a movie star and the state's most recent Republican leader.

None of the would-be Newsom replacements have caught fire like Schwarzenegger did in 2003, when 55% of voters supported the recall and 48% selected Schwarzenegger.

What's different today? Most of the voting will be done by mail. In fact, every registered voter was sent a ballot in the mail. That could give Democrats an advantage since 22 million ballots have been mailed out.

Early returns are coming more from Democrats, but they outnumber Republicans 2-1 in the state and Republicans may be waiting to vote on Election Day.

Another advantage for Newsom is that California's fundraising rules allow him to raise unlimited funds, treating the recall as a ballot question. But the candidates running to replace him are treated as candidates and can raise far less.

9:50 a.m. ET, September 14, 2021

How the California recall process works — and what happens next if Newsom is removed

From CNN's Maeve Reston and Ethan Cohen

California voters will be asked just two questions on the recall ballot: First, "yes" or "no" on whether they want to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Second, they will be asked to select from a list of candidates from all parties who wish to replace him. Forty-six contenders have qualified for the ballot, but there is no well-known Democrat vying to replace him. (Newsom is not allowed to run as a replacement candidate).

If a majority vote "yes" on the first question, Newsom is removed from office and the top candidate on the second question takes over, even if that person receives only a fraction of the vote. If a majority votes against recalling Newsom, he keeps his job and the results of the second question are irrelevant. There are no other initiatives or referenda on the ballot.

When would a new governor take office if Newsom is recalled? County officials have up to 30 days after the election to finish tallying the vote count. If the recall of Newsom is successful, the secretary of state would certify the results on the 38th day after the election and the new governor would take the oath of office.

The new governor would serve the remainder of Newsom's term through Jan. 2, 2023. The state's recall mechanism has been part of the law since 1911. But in that time, only one governor was successfully recalled: Democratic Gov. Gray Davis was ousted in 2003 and replaced by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Here's a look at how the process works: