2003 California gubernatorial recall election

The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003. Seven of the nine previous governors, including Davis, had faced unsuccessful recall attempts.

After several legal and procedural efforts failed to stop it, California's first-ever gubernatorial recall election was held on October 7, and the results were certified on November 14, 2003, making Davis the first governor recalled in the history of California, and just the second in U.S. history (the first was North Dakota's 1921 recall of Lynn Frazier). Imperial, Lake, and San Benito counties all voted for the recall after voting for Davis in 2002.

California is one of 19 states that allow recalls. Nearly 18 years after the 2003 election, California held a second recall election in 2021; however, that recall was unsuccessful, failing to oust Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. Provided by Wikipedia