Someone wrote this analogy:
The way California conducts recall elections is ridiculous and undemocratic.
Imagine you’re in charge of 100 kids going on an out of town field trip. Before the trip, you took a vote on where to stop for food on the way home, and 55/100 kids voted for pizza. On the way home, the bus pulls up to the pizza place, and while unloading the bus, 12 kids complain that they really don’t want pizza.
According to Official Field Trip Rules™, you now how to see if there’s another place you should go. You first take a vote on who doesn’t want pizza. This time, 52 kids raise their hand (48 kids still want pizza).
So you then take a second vote, where the kids can pick from a long list of places within a 10 mile radius (except the original pizza place). The results are as follows:
• 14 McDonalds
• 10 Taco Bell
• 9 Chuck E. Cheese
• 8 Golden Corral
• 8 Wendy’s
• 8 Panda Express
• 7 Burger King
• 7 Jack in the Box
• 6 Subway
• 6 Krispy Kreme
• 5 Starbucks
• 4 7 Eleven
• 3 The Shell Station
• 3 Safeway
• 1 Office Max
• 1 The dumpster across the street
Again, by Official Field Trip Rules™, everyone is now going to McDonalds (with 14 votes), EVEN THOUGH 48 KIDS STILL WANT PIZZA.
This is pretty much exactly how California recalls work: 12% can kick off the process, it takes a simple majority to jettison the original plan, and then whatever new plan gets the most votes is the new plan, regardless of how many people actually wanted to stick with the old plan.
Vote NO on the recall. It’s objectively terrible.