California state Sen. Josh Newman (D) dropped his bill that would reveal the names on recall petitions:
State Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat, said Tuesday he’s pulling the bill due to pressure from supporters of a likely recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat. Newman’s bill would not have applied to the anti-Newsom effort, but that movement’s supporters vehemently opposed it, saying it would violate citizen privacy and intimidate voters.“The environment is so charged around the recall that it made it hard to have a thoughtful discussion around this bill,” Newman said.Newman, who represents parts of Orange County, was recalled from office in 2018 but won election again in 2020.California voters can recall governors, state lawmakers, judges and local elected officials.
The petition to recall Newsom hit the needed number in February and continues to grow.
The state legislature would not have passed the bill in time for Newsom to view those who signed the recall petition.
More from AP:
Newman’s proposal would have allowed an elected official facing a recall to see the names of people who signed the petition so they can contact them to make sure they understood what they signed and see if they want to remove their names. People currently have 30 days to remove their names from a recall petition once state elections officials determine there are enough signatures.Newman argues the current system means bad actors could dupe people into signing a recall petition with no recourse for the target. But opponents of the measure said it would violate the right to privacy. Orrin Heatlie, the leader of the recall drive against Newsom, testified against the bill last week.“They were sort of leveraging this bill and representing this bill as an attack on not just the recall but on them and their constitutional rights,” Newman said. “It wasn’t a good context to have a conversation.”
Voters recalled Newman in 2018 “ostensibly for his affirmative vote on Senate Bill 1, which increased gas and diesel taxes and raised DMV registration fees in California.”
Newman won in 2020 due to the large Democrat turnout at the polls.
The judiciary committee would have heard from Newsom recall leader Orrin Heatlie this week. Last week, Heatlie and other supporters told the elections committee that the bill would violate citizens’ privacy.
Newman said he might bring back the bill during the next session. Heatlie will watch closely:
Heatlie said he will be watching and plans to oppose the bill if it comes back in the future.“This is an outright attack on people’s right to privacy and serves only to intimidate those would be petitioners from signing or goad people who signed to rescind their signatures in fear of retaliation or retribution,” he said in a text message.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY