California Recall Election is Tuesday, September 14th

The City of West Hollywood continues to remind community members that each vote counts and your voice matters in the California Gubernatorial Recall Election. The California Gubernatorial Recall Election will take place on Tuesday, September 14, 2021. There are many ways to vote early and the postal Mail-In and Ballot-Drop-Off voting period has begun. Make a plan to vote by mail, to drop off a ballot at a Ballot Drop Box or at a Vote Center, or to vote in-person at a Vote Center.

The City of West Hollywood encourages every eligible voter to make a plan to vote with the following tips:

• Check your voter registration status or register to vote at lavote.net/vrstatus or call (800) 815-2666;
• Decide how you would like to vote: Vote by Mail;
• Drop off a ballot at a Ballot Drop Box or a Vote Center; Vote in-person at a Vote Center;
• Educate yourself about the California Gubernatorial Recall Election and then vote as soon as you receive your ballot;
• Encourage your friends, family, and neighbors to vote or register to vote;
• Assist those who need help with their mail-in ballot or offer to take a homebound senior to a Vote Center; and
• Track your ballot. You can sign-up to receive personalized text messages, emails, and/or automated voice messages on your Vote-by-Mail ballot (whether sent by mail or dropped off at a Ballot Drop Box or Vote Center) by subscribing to Where’s My Ballot. This is a free service available to all registered voters that provides updated information about where your ballot is and when you can expect to receive it. Sign up to be notified of the status of your ballot at california.ballottrax.net/voter.

Registered California voters will receive recall ballot information by mail. The recall ballot will ask two questions:

• Do you want to recall Governor Newsom? and
  If the governor is recalled, who do you want to replace him? (There are 46 candidates on the ballot.)
• If 50 percent or more vote NO, the governor would remain in office.

If more than 50 percent vote YES, the governor would be removed from office and the person with the most votes would replace him.

The City of West Hollywood has worked with Los Angeles County to establish three Ballot Drop Box locations in West Hollywood and these locations are now available for immediate voting. Ballot Drop Boxes were installed in 2020 and are bright yellow and clearly marked. They feature safety and security features, such as 24-hour electronic monitoring.

Locations are as follows:

• West Hollywood City Hall, located at 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard
  (Ballot Drop Box located behind City Hall, off of N. Sweetzer Avenue)
• West Hollywood Library, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard (Ballot Drop Box located on the west side of the street, in front of the library)
• Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard (Ballot Drop Box located in front of the Plummer Park Community Center)

Traditional neighborhood “polling places” have been replaced in Los Angeles County by Vote Centers, which allow County residents (which includes West Hollywood residents) to vote at any Vote Center location over an 11-day period. Some Vote Centers will be available beginning Saturday, September 4, 2021. All Vote Centers will be available beginning Saturday, September 11, 2021.

All Los Angeles County voters will have 10 consecutive days as well as Election Day, Tuesday, September 14, 2021, to vote in-person at a Vote Center.

In the City of West Hollywood, there will be a Vote Center at Plummer Park’s Fiesta Hall, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard. This Vote Center will be open from Saturday, September 11, 2021 to Tuesday, September 14, 2021. For additional Vote Center locations, visit https://locator.lavote.net/locations/vc.

During the early voting period, from Saturday, September 4, 2021 to Tuesday, September 14, 2021, Vote Centers will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Election Day, Tuesday, September 14, 2021, Vote Centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All Vote Centers have made COVID-19 health and safety a priority. Vote Centers will follow LA County Public Health guidelines. Voters will be required to wear masks and to maintain social distance from others.

The City of West Hollywood adopted a resolution opposing the recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom at a regular City Council meeting on Monday, August 16th. Item 2R in the agenda, initiated by Mayor Lindsay Horvath, was moved to consent. The resolution opposes question 1 in the ballot asking to recall the Governor.

The last California gubernatorial recall to reach an election was in 2003. On September 15, 2003, the City Council passed a similar resolution in opposition to the recall election. At the time, the City Council believed the recall established a dangerous precedent for eroding the electoral process. The Council also argued the $67 million on the special election could have been better spent on education, healthcare, and public safety.

For more information, call the City of West Hollywood’s City Clerk’s Office at (323) 848-6409, visit the City’s Elections page at www.weho.org/elections. Call the California Secretary of State’s Voter Hotline toll-free at (800) 345-VOTE (8683).