Elections officials across California said Wednesday that the proposed rules written by Democratic lawmakers for the recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom could push the event’s cost far beyond the current estimate of $215 million, creating voter confusion and delaying the counting of ballots.
They have urged Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who will choose the date of the election, not to schedule the contest before mid-September, citing a long list of concerns, including the time needed to print ballots and federal guidelines for when to ship them to military and overseas voters.
“There are so many unknowns right now,” said Cynthia Paes, the interim registrar of voters in San Diego County.
Local elections officials began sounding the alarm soon after Democrats unveiled new legislation last week allowing the Newsom recall to be held as early as Aug. 24. The proposal would shorten the timeline by up to two months by eliminating the existing requirement of a lengthy analysis of the election’s costs.
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