How SF Voters Can Participate in Gubernatorial Recall Election

Evangelina Peña inside the San Francisco Department of Elections.

Courtesy photo

Evangelina Peña inside the San Francisco Department of Elections.

California voters will be asked whether they want to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office. If the recall is approved, there are more than 40 candidates vying to replace him, and selection from these candidates is the second question on the recall ballot. These ballots should be arriving in San Francisco voters’ mailboxes around Aug. 16. They can then be mailed in or returned in person. In an interview with “Civic,” Evangelina Peña, co-manager of the outreach division at the San Francisco Department of Elections, walked voters through the steps, from ensuring they receive a ballot to filling it out to tracking its processing status online.

“Votes in the first part and the second part of the recall contest are tallied independently. If there are more “yes” votes than “no” votes in the first part of the contest, then the candidate who received the most votes in the second part will be elected as governor. So it’s really up to the voters, they are the ones that have the option to, if they choose to vote only in the first part or in both parts. Whether you vote in one or both parts of the recall contest, you can only make one single selection in each — so in other words, do not vote both “yes” and “no” and do not select more than one replacement candidate.”

— Evangelina Peña

A segment from our radio show and podcast, “Civic.” Listen at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 102.5 FM in San Francisco, or online at ksfp.fm, and subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify or Stitcher

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