Prop. 5: Will California voters change the rules for recall elections?

In summary

Democrats want to make recalls simply about whether an official should be recalled, not about who should replace them. The contest looked to be a toss-up going into Election Day, with the no side holding a small edge.

California voters are weighing in on whether to change the state recall process that allows voters to remove elected officials from office before the end of their terms.

Proposition 5 would break the recall process into two parts: Voters would first decide in an election whether an official should be removed from office. If successful, they’d vote again in a follow-up election on who should replace the recalled official. Under the current system, voters are asked both questions at the same time. 

Democratic lawmakers placed the constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2024. It was endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who survived his own attempted recall in 2021. 

The outcome of Prop. 5 was far from certain going into Election Day: 45% of people polled in mid-October by the Public Policy Institute of California said they would vote for it, while 52% said they wouldn’t. The numbers were more even than voters’ response at first blush — a similar poll in early September found 59% of likely voters said they likely would vote no and just 35% said they would vote yes.

Where Prop. 5 came from

In the aftermath of the failed recall of Newsom in 2021, Democratic lawmakers and Secretary of State Shirley Weber began advocating for changes to the process. The Newsom recall effort cost taxpayers about $200 million, and another $100 was spent in the campaign to stop the recall by Newsom’s potential replacements to get their message out to voters. Newsom walked away unscathed, with 62% of voters electing to keep him in office. 

Weber and good governance groups argued the current system leads to unnecessary state expense, confuses voters, and can lead to ‘undemocratic’ outcomes, since the winner needs a plurality of the vote, not the majority, to win. 

They supported Senate Constitutional Amendment 1, authored by Democratic Sen. Josh Newman, who was recalled himself in 2018. The effort became Prop. 5 when Democratic lawmakers passed it in 2024. Republican lawmakers voted against it, arguing the reform was not needed, would dilute the power of voters and lead to additional special election costs because of the need to hold two elections. 

Unlike some of the tax measures on the ballot that have spurred multimillion-dollar spending sprees, no group has spent any money on the effort, according to CalMatters campaign finance tracker. 

Although recalls are often initiated, they rarely make it to voters. Only 11 recalls have made it to the ballot in California since 1913, and only six have been approved by voters. The current recall process is how Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came into power, replacing Gray Davis in 2003.