California’s Recall Was Worth Every Penny

When It Comes to Supporting Democratic Infrastructure, $276 Million Is a Bargain

It’s hard to think of a better bargain in our high-cost state than the failed recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom. At an estimated cost of $276 million—less than $7 per Californian—our state got a months-long democratic exercise that inspired dramatic new public investments, improved the governor’s performance, and may even save lives.

Maddeningly, many Californians who claim to be defenders of democracy persist in calling this democratic triumph an expensive waste of money. (Some of these thoughtless critics even have the gall to call themselves Democrats.) If they don’t want …

Where I Go: The Geology of Memory | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

I Should Have Recalled Myself!

The Speech and Strategy That Gov. Gavin Newsom Didn’t Know He Needed

This is the speech Gov. Gavin Newsom should have given during the recall campaign, but didn’t.

I know a lot of you think this recall is pretty strange. But you don’t …

Your Recall Confusion Is Part of a Much Bigger Problem | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Your Recall Confusion Is Part of a Much Bigger Problem

California's Elections 'Don't Match How Human Beings Think, Choose, and Vote'

It’s not just our recall elections that are broken in California. It’s all our elections that are broken.

Even before the voting started, Democrats and California elites were crying foul. And …

Sack Octavius and Newsom! The Recall Is as Old as the Roman Republic | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Sack Octavius and Newsom! The Recall Is as Old as the Roman Republic

The Tool for Removing Elected Officials Has Had Centuries of Champions—from the Levellers to Lenin

The recall—the tool being used in an attempt to remove Gavin Newsom as California’s governor before his term is over—might seem strange or novel. It’s neither. The recall is nearly …

California graves

Does the Recall Matter if Republicans Already Run California?

Whatever Happens in September Won’t Change the Fact That the State Is Ruled by GOP Members From Beyond the Grave

The big narratives around the recall campaign are wrong—because the things we, Californians, think we know about California governance are wrong.

The Republicans who want to remove Gavin Newsom from office …

California’s Recall Is Riding a Global Wave | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

California’s Recall Is Riding a Global Wave

From Nigeria to Brazil, Democracies Are Experimenting With New Ways for People to Hold Their Elected Officials Accountable

The recall attempt against Gov. Gavin Newsom is being widely—and wrongly—dismissed as a peculiar and illegitimate consequence of California’s strange direct democracy.

The truth is that the recall is very much …