Recall rule changes show California Democrats willing to manipulate laws when it suits them

Is Secretary of State Shirley Weber the only Democrat in California willing to hold Gov. Gavin Newsom accountable for his actions? It sure seems like it.

Due to a filing error caused by Newsom’s election attorney, recall ballots distributed later this year might not list the governor as a Democrat. Now, Newsom and his team want to bypass the rules for filing beyond a deadline in order to correct their mistake. The only thing that stands in their way is Weber, who’s refusing to bend the rules just to appease the governor.

Weber is now being sued by the same governor who appointed her. On Monday, a petition was filed in court by Newsom’s attorneys “commanding (Weber) to accept his election to have his party preference printed on the recall ballot.” According to the suit, Weber declined to fix Newsom’s filing miscue last month, after he attempted to correct it.

“The Secretary of State’s office has a ministerial duty to accept timely filed documents,” Weber’s office said. “Acceptance of filings beyond a deadline requires judicial resolution.”

Weber should be commended for doing her job without conceding to the disingenuous politics played by the leaders of her party, Newsom included.

California Democrats have a bad habit of tinkering with recall rules to tip the scale in their favor when citizens campaign to remove elected leaders from office. On Monday, California Democrats passed Senate Bill 152, then quickly signed by Newsom, which allows state officials to bypass a step for certifying the recall election. The election date has now been scheduled for Sept. 14.

SB 152 paved the way for an earlier date — a strategic move by California’s supermajority political party. According to Bee reporter Lara Korte, “some Democrats have suggested that an earlier recall date will benefit the governor, who is currently riding a wave of approval as California reopens and the state coffers are overflowing with an $80 billion surplus.”

A later recall date could have coincided with a downturn in Newsom’s approval ratings, depending especially on how the state’s wildfire season progressed. Wildfire season is off to a bad start, with 890 more fires and 13,189 more acres already burned in 2021 compared to the same time last year.

Newsom’s ratings could also flag if COVID infection numbers begin spiking to the point where mask mandates and other restrictions have to be utilized yet again. The Delta variant is spreading in California, and Los Angeles has already revived stricter mask guidance.

This isn’t the first time state Democrats have rewritten recall rules in their favor. In 2017, when it became apparent that efforts to recall state Senator Josh Newman would make the ballot, Democrats quickly passed legislation that delayed Newman’s recall until the next regularly scheduled primary election, when more Democrats turned out to vote.

Newman was recalled anyway in 2018, despite stating that he didn’t have a part in crafting the legislation that delayed his recall. He acknowledged, however, that his chances of surviving the recall may have been hurt by the very legislation his fellow Democrats ginned up to help him.

In the case of the governor, current polls indicate that his recall is doomed to fail. It could very well be that this political circus will have been a complete waste of time and an enormous waste of money — costing taxpayers an estimated $215 million, according to projections.

Despite poll numbers that give Republican challengers little chance, California Democrats would rather rewrite the rules than follow them.

Right now, Republicans across the country are pushing legislation to restrict voting, making it more difficult for public participation in our most fundamental democratic process. Democrats have decried the GOP’s voter suppression effort, and rightfully so. But Democrats in our state prove they are not above manipulating the rules when it suits their purposes, either. It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, of course. But it’s not a good look for Democrats either.

A political recall is the most drastic tool the public has to remove politicians from office, but it is also a sacred process meant to express the will of the people. It might seem like a waste of time to some, but it’s the people’s right to pursue a recall if it qualifies for the ballot, and this year it did.

Gavin Newsom may survive the recall, but his party’s reputation won’t come out unscathed.

This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.