Gavin Newsom Recall Election Cost California Over $200M, Secretary Of State Says

The 2021 Gubernatorial recall election to remove California Gov. Gavin Newsom from office cost over $200 million, according to multiple reports that cited accounting from California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber to the California Department of Finance and the chairs of the State Assembly and Senate budget committees.

Weber’s missive said the statewide cost of the election was $200,241,680, including $174,059,031 in county costs and $26,182,649 in costs to the Secretary of State’s Office. Some estimates had the total between $300M and $500M. The State Finance Department in September estimated the tab at $276M.

The proposal to remove Newsom was defeated by an overwhelming margin. Weber’s October certification of the votes found that 61.9% of Californians chose to retain the governor, while 38.1% voted to remove him. That’s the same exact ratio by which Newsom first won election in 2018.

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“While less than estimated, the costs to California to conduct a statewide recall election still added up to over $200 million,” said Weber. “This was a substantial cost to taxpayers and a significant disruption to governing the state.”