Gascón recall supporters say they’ve surpassed required number of signatures

Signal File Photo: Mothers Emma Rivas, left, and Imelda Hernandez tell their stories of losing their sons to violent offenders on stage during the Recall Gascon Rally held at Central Park in Saugus on Thursday, 072921. Dan Watson/The Signal
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Although still needing to be validated by the L.A. County Registrar, the campaign organizers seeking to recall District George Gascón say they have surpassed the total number of signatures needed to place their referendum on the ballot.  

The campaign said, via a press release distributed Wednesday, that the campaign had reached the 566,857 signature total, but would continue to collect signatures up to the July 6 deadline, when they must submit their petition to the L.A. County Registrar for official validation. 

“The campaign is now focused on collecting as many additional signatures as possible to ensure there is a necessary cushion to cover those that are invalidated by the registrar,” read a statement from recall campaign officials. “The goal is to ultimately submit 650,000-700,000 total signatures, or even more if possible.” 

“This is the most signatures ever collected in Los Angeles County for any petition,” they added.  

According to the campaign organizers, by surpassing the total number of signatures required, the effort is now closer than ever to being placed on the ballot; however, they also emphasized their urgency in collecting signatures over the final three weeks.  

“Simply clearing the required threshold is not enough – we must build the necessary cushion for signatures that are inevitably invalidated,” they said. “The only thing that can stop us at this point is complacency.”  

Organizers at the anti-recall campaign for the district attorney declined to comment on Wednesday.   

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.  

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