The campaign to recall L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday it requires 60,000 more signatures in order to see the initiative placed on the ballot.
In its most recent announcement, the campaign said it had collected “over 500,000 signatures,” or 88.2% of the goal, as of May 31, closing in on the 566,857 it needs by the July 6 deadline.
“Right now, the recall petition is in the mailboxes of 3.6 million registered voters in L.A. County,” Recall George Gascón campaign officials said in a prepared statement. “If just 5% sign and promptly return the petition, we will have more than enough signatures to not only clear the threshold, but also to ensure there is enough cushion for those that are inevitably invalidated. The fate of this recall is quite literally in the hands of Los Angeles County voters.”
On May 13, the campaign announced it had collected 450,000, or 79.3% of the signatures needed to get the recall on the ballot, with 50 days left to qualify.
“If residents and community leaders continue to step up, this will be the beginning of the end of George Gascón’s reign of terror over Los Angeles,” campaign officials said in a previous statement sent to The Signal.
Organizers at the anti-recall campaign for the district attorney declined to comment on Thursday.
“This isn’t just a recall. It’s a public safety movement,” said Deputy District Jon Hatami, a longtime critic of Gascón and a Santa Clarita resident. “Democrats, Republicans, declined-to-states and independents – Angelenos – have all come together, have dedicated their time, and have worked incredibly hard over the last 18 months to fight for victims, survivors, families and children when George Gascón completely abandoned them.”
This is the second recall attempt against Gascón after a previous effort last year failed to acquire the minimum number of signatures to reach the ballot. Since he assumed office in December 2020, critics of Gascón have said his special directives have harmed public safety while his supporters have stated he and his office are attempting to change a system hampered by systemic racism and archaic legal theory.
If the campaign reaches the required number of signatures by the July deadline, government officials will need to decide whether it will be placed on the November general election ballot or if it will require a special election on a separate date.
