The county clerk’s office said that while organizers submitted more than 715,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot, only 520,000 were found to be valid. The measure required nearly 567,000 valid signatures to be placed on the ballot. The county said more than 195,000 signatures were found to be invalid for reasons such as the person signing does not live in the county or is not a registered voter. Almost 44,000 signatures were found to be duplicates. Last week, organizers of the recall effort claimed the county was not following current signature verification laws, saying the rules assume a signature is valid unless there is evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the signature on the petition differs in “multiple, significant and obvious” respects from the one on the record. But organizers claimed the county was not held to that standard. The county says it conducted its review in compliance with all California laws and requirements. On Monday, the recall committee called the clerk’s findings “surprise and disappointment,” but said it would review the rejected signatures and the verification process. The committee noted that more than half a million county residents supported the petition, in addition to 37 town leaders who voted undecided for Gascon. “To deny them the opportunity to restore public safety to their communities is heartbreaking,” the recall committee said. “And to interpret this in any other way than as a blanket rejection of Gascony’s dangerous policies would be disingenuous or at best naïve.” A spokesman for Gascon’s campaign released a statement: “We are obviously happy to be moving ahead of this attempted political power grab, but we also understand that much more work needs to be done. And we remain strongly committed to that. The DA’s primary goal is to has always been about keeping us safe and creating a fairer justice system for everyone. Today’s announcement does not change that.” This is not the only obstacle that has challenged the recall effort. Last month, a company that collected petition signatures for the measure claimed in federal court that recall organizers owe the company at least $469,596 for unpaid work. RELATED: Signature collection firm sues Gascón recall committee Gascon has come under fire since taking office in December 2020, when he issued a series of directives that critics decried as soft on crime. The guidelines include a rule against seeking the death penalty, a ban on transferring juvenile defendants to adult court, and bans on filing sentence enhancements in most cases. Gascon has repeatedly defended his policies, saying his positions were known during his campaign and his election meant public support for his agenda. City News Service contributed to this report. Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
