Berkeley academics claim California recall 'unconstitutional' because of how Newsom could lose

A University of California-Berkeley dean and professor claimed Wednesday that the upcoming California recall election was "unconstitutional" because current Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom could potentially lose with a larger plurality of votes than the winning candidate.

"The most basic principles of democracy are that the candidate who gets the most votes is elected and that every voter gets an equal say in an election’s outcome," they wrote. "The California system for voting in a recall election violates these principles and should be declared unconstitutional." The two described how the recall election would be split into two questions, the first being whether or not Newsom should remain governor, and the second being who should replace him if not. They noted that the first question would be decided by a majority vote, while the second would be decided by a plurality: the person with the most votes wins.