Voters in these California counties carried the Gavin Newsom recall to the ballot

Republican-leaning Northern California counties had the biggest turnout in signing the petition to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, state data shows.

The effort to recall the Democratic governor hit an important benchmark earlier this week when the Secretary of State confirmed the petition had more than 1.6 million valid signatures, just over the 1.5 million it needed to qualify for the ballot.

Organizers have touted the campaign as a nonpartisan movement, comprised of Californians across the political and geographical spectrum, but certain areas of the state played a more significant role in reaching the signature threshold than others.

Data from the Secretary of State’s office show counties in the northeastern part of the state had the highest percentage of registered voters who signed the petition, with the greatest participation, 19.1%, coming from Amador County, just east of Sacramento.

Stacie Albright, a Calaveras County resident who led the push for signatures in Amador and Calaveras counties, said supporters she came in contact with expressed frustration with Newsom’s policies around immigration.

“People were concerned about where our state is heading and who is steering that helm,” she said. “I’m just happy that I was a part of such a historic movement and I’m really proud that we all did it. I came across people from all parties, all walks of life, all races, all colors, all religions. It was across the board.”

The counties that had the highest proportion of registered voters sign the petition also have some of the highest rates of Republican registration in the state, according to the latest data from the Secretary of State.

In Lassen, Modoc and Shasta counties, which have the three highest rates of Republican registration, 18.2%, 17.2%, 16.9% of voters signed the recall petition, respectively.

Going by raw signatures alone, voters in Los Angeles County contributed the most to the recall petition, turning in 264,409 valid signatures. Runners-up include Orange with 215,714 signatures, San Diego with 156,869 signatures, Riverside with 146,610, San Bernardino with 74,602 signatures, and Sacramento with 61,073 signatures.

While the state confirmed the recall petition has 1,626,042 valid signatures as of April 19, that’s unlikely to be the final count. County election officials have until April 29 to turn in their final reports. After that, signers have until June 8 to withdraw signatures if they choose.

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 5:00 AM.