SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KERO) — Five million ballots have already been returned ahead of the election and a new poll is showing that more than half of those voting want to keep Governor Gavin Newsom in office.
The poll was done by the Public Policy Institute of California. It says that 39 percent of likely voters are voting "Yes" for the recall, while 58 percent will vote "No."
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Despite the good numbers, Newsom says that he doesn't want voters to get complacent.
"Polls don't vote. People vote. Period full stop. This is an off-year, off-month election. That's what recall's about. It's designed to catch you sleeping."
Among Republicans, 54 percent say they are more energized about voting than usual. The poll found more Republicans are aware of the recall election than Democrats.
Meanwhile, a group of security experts is calling on the state's top election official to take extra steps to protect the upcoming election. This comes after copies of systems used to run elections across the country were released at an event last month by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell.
The experts sent a letter Thursday asking the secretary of state for a post-election audit to be conducted statewide that could help detect attempts to interfere with the election. The letter says the audit would provide strong evidence to counter any effort to discredit the outcome.
Finally, the state is moving closer to making mail-in voting an option for all California voters. The Senate voted to ensure that every registered voter will get a ballot in the mail at least 29 days before every election. This would change previous rules where voters need to ask for a mail-in ballot.
The rule was changed last year during the pandemic and extended for elections taking place this year. The state assembly must vote on the bill again before sending it to Governor Newsom's desk.
