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Registrar-Recorder’s Office Says Gascón Recall Bid Fails
Proponents Cry Foul, Will Seek Writ
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Office of Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean C. Logan yesterday announced that the number of valid signatures on petitions to put on the ballot the question of whether District Attorney George Gascón should be recalled has fallen 46,807 short of the 566,857 that are needed, but proponents of the recall are launching a court challenge to the procedures utilized in undertaking a count of signatures.
Whether the recall effort has, in fact, fizzled or whether Logan has fumbled, as the proponents insist, by failing to observe standards for counting signatures which became state law on March 22, will be decided by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Whatever the outcome of the writ proceeding and possible appeals—with the prospect that controversy will be rendered moot if not resolved prior to the 2024 election—Logan’s job is on the line.
The Committee to Recall District Attorney George Gascon asserts that the Registrar-Recorder’s Office has violated current law by not applying a presumption in favor of authenticity of signatures and not permitting the counting to be observed. In barring monitors, Logan has asserted that recall elections do not have the same procedures as other elections, while the recall proponents point to Elections Code §11110 which says that such elections “must be conducted, returns canvassed, and the result declared, in all respects as are other state elections.”
Aug. 8 Letter
On Aug. 8, a letter was sent to members of the Board of Supervisors by attorney Marian M.J. Thompson of the office of former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, on behalf of the committee, protesting the procedures utilized by Logan’s office. The letter urged the county lawmakers to exercise their powers of overseeing the count of signatures, and served to exhaust administrative remedies.
The letter complains that in conducting a random sampling last month—which could have resulted in a recall election being called if a sufficient number of signatures had been gathered—there was a 22 percent rejection rate. Thompson related that 2017 training materials and guidelines were used, not reflecting the new law erecting the presumption of authenticity.
Within hours of Thompson’s letter being transmitted to the board, Logan scoffed in a tweet: “when confronted with fear of an unknown outcome, invent a fictitious narrative to misinform and cast doubt.”
Breakdown Provided
Logan’s office said yesterday that 520,050 signatures were found to be valid and 195,783 were found to be invalid. It provided this breakdown of discarded signatures:
•Not Registered: 88,464
•Max Number of Times Signed (Duplicate): 43,593
•Different Address: 32,187
•Mismatch Signature: 9,490
•Canceled: 7,344
•Out of County Address: 5,374
•Other: 9,331
A press release announces that “proponents of the recall petition may examine the petition signatures if desired, provided that such examination must commence no later than 21 days after the certification of insufficiency of the petition.”
Recall Committee’s Statement
The recall committee yesterday issued this statement:
“While the initial results are surprising and disappointing, the Recall Committee intends to exercise its full statutory and legal authority to review the rejected signatures and verification process that took place, and will ultimately seek to ensure no voter was disenfranchised.
“Nonetheless, according to the Registrar-Recorder, over half a million residents placed valid signatures on a petition to initiate the recall of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon. To deprive them of the opportunity to restore public safety in their own communities is heartbreaking. And to interpret this in any other way other than a wholesale rejection of Gascon’s dangerous polices would be disingenuous, or naive at best. The over half a million signatures are in addition to 37 cities voting no confidence in the District Attorney, and over 98% of Gascon’s own prosecutors supporting the recall.
“The removal of George Gascon from office has never been a matter of if, but when. The citizens of Los Angeles cannot afford another two years of Gascon unleashing havoc on their streets—people’s lives are at stake.”
Copyright 2022, Metropolitan News Company