Early results Tuesday indicated Alameda County voters want to change how to recall county-level officials.
A ballot question, Measure B, asked voters whether the county should adopt the state guidelines for recalling local officers, which the rest of the state’s counties already use or reference through one means or another, according to the County Counsel Department.
Since 1926, the process has been spelled out by provisions in the county charter. An attorney for the county previously warned lawmakers that several sections of the charter language fly in the face of higher-level laws and the U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
As of shortly before midnight Wednesday morning, Alameda County had counted nearly 68,000 votes on Measure B, and roughly 62% of the votes were in favor, according to early results available through the county.
Those results did not account for many vote-by-mail and provisional ballots, which the county will continue to count over the next week, according to county officials.
It is unclear how precisely, if at all, Measure B might affect the ongoing campaign seeking a recall election against District Attorney Pamela Price if the measure succeeds. If the campaign to recall Price does indeed trigger a recall election, it will be the first in the county’s history, according to county documents on Measure B.
Campaigners said Monday they had submitted 123,387 signatures in support of a recall election against Price. Presuming they are all verified, that’s nearly 50,000 more than needed under the current rules.
Under the current charter language, which is nearly a century old, ballots in a recall election will also include the names of any possible nominated successors and anyone who votes on the recall itself can also vote on a successor. If the county adopts the state regulations, “there shall not be an election for a successor,” and if the recall is successful, “the office shall be vacant until it is filled according to law,” according to the state guidelines.
If Measure B passes there will be several other logistical changes:
- Those collecting signatures would no longer need to be registered to vote in Alameda County, a requirement county officials have said belies a Supreme Court ruling.
- The number of signatures that would trigger an election would change from 15% of voter turnout for the most recent governor’s election — roughly 74,000 in the case of district attorney — to 10% of registered voters, or roughly 94,000, according to county data.
- The county registrar’s 10-day limit to verify signatures would increase to 30 days, with some circumstances allowing for up to 60 days.
- Assuming there are enough verified signatures, the Board of Supervisors would have two weeks to schedule a recall election within 88-125 days, or up to 180 days if another election is imminent. That’s an increase from the current 35-40-day timeframe for an election, with exceptions for up to 60 days if another election is coming up.
- Language allowing the recall of “appointed” officers would be excised.
Switching to the state rules “will help avoid long and expensive legal battles,” and “fix the incomplete and unconstitutional parts of the County Charter election rules,” according to a statement of support for the ballot measure from supervisors Keith Carson, Elisa Márquez and Lena Tam; Helen L. Hutchison, chair of the League of Women Voters of the Alameda County Council; and Rebecca Perata, a board member of the Alameda Chamber & Economic Alliance.
Opponents of the ballot measure have painted it as a power grab by the Board of Supervisors, claiming the changes would restrict voters’ rights to choose or remove county officials.
“If Supervisors are so concerned about flaws in existing Alameda County recall law, they should instead put forward ‘surgical amendments’ targeted to fix the small parts that need modification,” according to an argument against Measure B from Marcus Crawley, president of the Alameda County Taxpayers’ Association; Jacqueline Carron-Cota, chair of the Election Integrity Team of Alameda County, California; and Edward Escobar, founder of Citizens Unite and a leader in the movement to recall Price.
