The group seeking to recall Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón says it planned to submit 717,000 signatures on Wednesday, the deadline.
Billionaire George Soros helped fund Gascón’s 2020 campaign by donating at least $1.5 million to the California Justice and Safety PAC during the 2020 election cycle, Fox News reported.
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin tweeted that the campaign seeking to oust Gascón needed 566,857 verified signatures in order to place the recall on November’s ballot.
“Their goal was 700k for ‘padding.’ They received over 150,000 in the last few weeks since 2 El Monte PD officers [were] killed.”
BREAKING: The campaign to recall LA DA @GeorgeGascon tells me it has collected 717,000 signatures for today’s deadline. They need 566,857 verified. Their goal was 700k for “padding”. They received over 150,000 in the last few weeks since 2 El Monte PD officers killed. @FoxNews
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) July 6, 2022
Los Angeles County requires 10 percent of registered voters to sign a recall petition in order for it to be placed on the ballot.
Officials with the LA County Registrar of Voters will review the signatures gathered to confirm the people are registered and eligible to vote in the county.
Truck arrives with boxes of signatures from people supporting the recall of #LosAngeles DA George Gascon @LADAOffice. The campaign says it has collected 717,000 signatures. @LACountyRRCC pic.twitter.com/smspXlk5v0
— Craig Fiegener (@CraigNews3LV) July 6, 2022
In last year’s effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom, approximately 1.7 million of the 2.2 million signatures gathered were verified, which was in excess of the 1.5 million needed, KXTV-TV in Sacramento reported.
More than 441,400 signatures were tossed out, meaning a 20 percent rejection rate.
If that same 20 percent is applied to the signatures required to recall Gascón, that would mean the recall group wanted to gather about 680,000 signatures to be safe.
So the group has easily met that threshold.
The Recall DA George Gascón campaign said, “The people of Los Angeles have spoken in a resounding way, with hundreds of thousands of residents adding their names to the recall petition and 37 cities voting no confidence in their District Attorney.”
The activists stated the number submitted will provide enough cushion to ensure the recall will be on November’s ballot.
“The sheer magnitude of this effort, and time and investment required to get to this point, show how strong the public desire is to remove George Gascón from office,” the campaign said.
“From day one, this recall has been led by the very victims who Gascón has abandoned, ignored, and dismissed. When the recall qualifies, he will not be able to ignore them any longer,” the group concluded.
New, Update: The campaign to recall Los Angeles DA @GeorgeGascon says it is submitting 717,000 petition signatures today to qualify the recall for the ballot. It needs 566,857 of those to be valid, or 79% of what they’re turning in. That’s a 21% cushion, which should be enough. pic.twitter.com/OWiJLuB9oh
— Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) July 6, 2022
Gascón implemented a series of what he characterized as reforms designed to end “mass incarceration” after taking office in December 2020.
The Los Angeles Times reported that homicides in the city hit 397 in 2021, which was the highest number in 15 years and a 50 percent increase from 2019.
Should Gascón be recalled?
Robberies involving firearms were also up 57 percent from 2020 and 60 percent from 2019, and so far 2022 is outpacing 2021 at the same point in time.
“Violent crime of all types through April 23 was up 7.2% compared to last year, with much of the increase from aggravated assaults and robberies, many of which involved firearms, according to police. Robberies are up 18.5% over last year,” the Times said.
Meanwhile, homicides in areas patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department increased 94 percent from 2019 to 2021, according to KCBS-TV.
Many point the finger at Gascón’s soft-on-crime policies for the deaths of two El Monte police officers who were killed on June 14 in a shootout with suspect William Flores.
Flores had a lengthy criminal record, but was released on probation.
“Gascón defended his office’s handling of the Flores case, saying the suspect had ‘no history of violence,’” the New York Post said.
Gang member Justin Flores murdered two El Monte police officers on Tuesday, in the line of duty. Flores should have been in prison. Thanks to Gascón, he was on the streets:https://t.co/cF5PsxJ9Vq
— RecallDAGeorgeGascon (@DAGasconRecall) June 16, 2022
Angelinos sought to recall their DA last year, but failed to gather the required signatures.
Fox News reported that in a fundraising text message last week, Gascón said that if this year’s recall effort is successful, it will set the progressive agenda back.
“The Republican-led recall effort in L.A. is on the ‘cusp’ of qualifying for the ballot this November,” he said. “And if they’re successful, they will reverse all our progress.”
Last month, residents of San Francisco recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin by a wide margin.
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