It’s official: SOS chooses easy recall qualification procedure

The official website for the California Secretary of State has updated and its FAQ for the 2021 gubernatorial recall election now describes the qualification procedure. Secretary Weber decided to use the same primary candidate qualification requirements that Kevin Shelley employed in the 2003 Gray Davis recall:

A replacement candidate must follow existing primary election nomination procedures to run for the office of Governor and must file the required paperwork no less than 59 days before the scheduled recall election. A replacement candidate must: File with the county elections official, in which the candidate is registered to vote, the following:

A Declaration of Candidacy, and Nomination Papers, with 65 to 100 valid nomination signatures.

Pay a filing fee of $4,194.94 to the county elections official at the time the candidate obtains their Declaration of Candidacy and nomination papers.  

A candidate may choose to submit a minimum of 7,000 valid signatures on petitions in lieu of the filing fee.

File, no later than the candidate filing deadline, with the Secretary of State two (2) copies of every income tax return the candidate filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the five (5) most recent taxable years, one unredacted copy and another copy with required redactions.