Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

Civics & Democracy

Californians Like Having The Right To Recall Elected Officials (Even Though Our Most Recent Recall Failed)

Voting information for the California gubernatorial recall election are shown organized by language in an office.
A new survey conducted by Claremont McKenna College found that Californians (and New Yorkers) support the right to recall.
(
Robyn Beck
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

A majority of Californians and New Yorkers support the right to recall elected officials, according to a new study out of Claremont McKenna College.

That's even though New York doesn't have a recall process, and the majority of Californian voters were against recalling Governor Gavin Newsom.

Claremont McKenna assistant professor of government Andrew Sinclair told KPCC's Airtalk that party preference plays a big role in who embraces recall elections.

"So Republicans like it a lot… and Democrats kind of like it… but by fairly narrow majorities in both states. And that's probably a function of who they expect to get recalled. Since these are solidly Democratic states, the expectation is this could be a tool that would be wielded against Democratic elected officials," Sinclair says.

Support for LAist comes from

The study also found that regardless of political leaning, supporters of the recall process tend to be populists, looking for people-driven change — think Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump fans — rather than more moderate or centrist voters.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist