Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 14 . Governor Gavin Newsom is being wrongly targeted for a recall election this fall, and this is a critical time where we need your help to take action and protect our climate progress.
With the climate crisis being the driving cause of extreme weather and climate impacts we’re seeing now, we need large-scale change that is integrated across issue areas, and the Governor’s continued leadership is essential to this work.
To echo the words of our CEO Mary Creasman, EnviroVoters stands behind Governor Newsom during this dangerous recall that will only distract from the urgent needs of Californians and waste valuable taxpayer dollars.
Since Governor Newsom was elected to office in 2018, he has taken significant strides on climate action. The people behind the recall are set on sending California backwards, not forwards.
Governor Newsom’s first year in office started out with a focus on Safe and Affordable Drinking Water in an effort to improve the health and wellness of over one million Californians across the state. The Governor also championed some important pro-environment executive actions during his first year including improving water quality and access, leveraging investments to double down on greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts, and cracking down on oil and gas operations.
Throughout his second year in office, Governor Newsom faced a difficult task of leading the nation’s most populous state through three simultaneous crises: a public health crisis, an economic crisis, and the climate crisis. The Governor’s leadership on these crises largely came through utilization of executive actions, including ones to expand vote-by-mail, establish the nation’s first climate corp, accelerate the adoption of zero-emission cars and trucks, and utilize natural and working lands to combat climate change.
This year alone, Governor Newsom used the tools at his disposal to move the state away from fossil fuels and towards carbon neutrality. In April, his announcement set a date to end new fracking permits and asked the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to evaluate a pathway to ending oil extraction by 2045. Just last month, Governor Newsom announced the rejection of fracking permits in the Central Valley, a region heavily burdened by pollution. He also asked state agencies to set more ambitious clean energy targets for electricity sales by 2030 and to map out a pathway to carbon neutrality by 2035–10 years earlier than the state’s current target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
Right now, Californians are still grappling with unprecedented and interconnected economic, public health, and climate crises that require immense government leadership at this moment. Governor Newsom has moved the needle on climate action, and the recall is just a political stunt that could have devastating impacts on our families and our future.
We can’t derail the life-saving progress that’s being made and we hope voters see through this recall for what it is: a right-wing attempt to undermine our state’s values, and the safety and well-being of Californians.
Elections are determined by who shows up. Here’s what you need to know to vote NO on the recall this Election Day:
- All registered voters will receive a ballot in the mail. Make sure you’re registered to vote here.
- Once you fill out your ballot, you can drop it off in the mail, an official mail ballot drop box, or at a vote center. Your ballot must be returned or postmarked by Election Day.
- Voting in-person is available for this special election. Polls are open from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. Click here to find a local vote center or to check if your county offers early in-person voting.
- You can register to vote all the way through Election Day. California offers same-day registration, so all eligible voters can vote with a provisional ballot on Election Day at a vote center if they’re not already registered.
To learn more about voting in the recall election, you can visit the Secretary of State’s website.
We only have until 2030 to avert the climate crisis. We can’t afford to have this recall set us back on our progress. Make a plan to vote, and do your part to keep a climate leader in office this September.
