Proposition 5 could change California’s recall elections. Here is our endorsement | Opinion

Proposition 5 seeks to fundamentally change how California conducts recall elections for members of the Legislature and constitutional officers elected statewide. Such elections have been rare in California.

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According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, only 11 state recall efforts targeting nine legislators and two governors have qualified for the ballot since 1913. In 2003, Gray Davis became the only California governor to be recalled, a fate that also befell five state legislators over the years. The last statewide recall effort to qualify for the ballot was the unsuccessful campaign to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021.

Under current law, voters are asked two questions in the same election when a recall effort qualifies for the ballot. The first is whether a state officer should be recalled. The second is who should replace that officer from a field of hopefuls seeking consideration if a recall is successful. In 2003, 135 candidates wanted to succeed Davis. In 2021, there were 46 candidates vying for Newsom’s job.

THE BEE’S VOTER GUIDE: Your guide to Proposition 5

If Prop. 5 is approved by state voters in November, the second question will be eliminated.

In future statewide recalls that gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, Californians would only vote yes or no on whether an officer should be recalled. If a state recall of a member of the Legislature was successful, that office would remain vacant until a special election was held. If a constitutional officer were recalled, the vacancies would be filled by the governor. Should a future governor be recalled in the first two years of office, the Lt. Gov. would fill the vacancy until a special election was held. If a governor were recalled later in the term, the Lt. Gov. would fill the vacancy until the next scheduled election.

This would be a longer process, but also one that’s more thoughtful, deliberate and — most importantly — respects the democratic norm of majority rule.

It’s why our combined editorial boards representing The Sacramento Bee, Modesto Bee, Merced Sun-Star, Fresno Bee and San Luis Obispo Tribune endorse Prop. 5.

Recall elections in California

Since California voters approved the recall process in 1911, five replacement candidates have been elected after six officials were removed from office with less than 50% of the vote. In California recall elections, the candidate who receives the most votes wins, unlike in a special election, where a candidate must win a majority.

This creates a conundrum of a recalled official garnering more voter support than the replacement candidate who “wins” the recall.

In the 2018 recall of former state Sen. Josh Newman, for instance, his replacement, Republican Ling Ling Chang, came out on top with just under 34% of the vote. Newman points out that he had more votes in his favor; nearly 42% of voters opposed his recall.

“So I got more votes by way of ‘no, don’t kick him out,’ than she got by ‘yes, please put her in,’” Newman said.

Newman won back his Senate seat in the next regular election and then went on to write Prop. 5.

One of the proposition’s most outspoken opponents is Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a former talk radio host who pushed for Newman’s recall in 2017.

How Prop. 5 opponents feel

DeMaio sees Prop. 5 as an attempt by the ruling party to evade recalls. “What they want to do is create a situation where politicians trying to fend off a recall can say, ‘Don’t vote for the recall or else you won’t be represented for 12 months. You’ll lose your voice,’” he told us.

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Actually, Article II, Section 15 of the California Constitution, says a recall election must be held within 60 and 80 days of recall petition signatures being certified. The election may be held within 180 days of certification if it is consolidated with the next regularly scheduled election.

Arguments against Prop. 5 ignore that the current system created instances where replacement candidates got elected with less than 50% of the vote.

They decry the cost of conducting special elections and oppose that Prop. 5 would allow a recalled official to run in a special election to fill the vacancy.

There have been 182 attempts to recall state officials in California. Eleven of those made the ballot, and only six were successful.

Some view the current recall system as “a to undo election results they don’t like,” to quote the League of Women Voters and others.

Prop. 5 cannot put an end to the political gamesmanship, but it can safeguard the will of the voters by following the principle of majority rule.

McClatchy Media’s California editorial board strongly urges a “yes” vote on Proposition 5.

This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 10:30 AM.