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On The Eve Of The Recall Election, Here’s What Some North State Voters Are Thinking

California Recall Election Guides stack up on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021.
Andrew Nixon
/
CapRadio
California Recall Election Guides are stacking up on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021.

Voters are showing up to drop off their ballots in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election. Polls will remain open until 8 p.m. You can find more information on the recall election and how to cast your ballot here

Around thirty voters showed up to cast their ballots in person at the Chico Masonic Family Center in Chico around lunchtime.

Chris Ariza is a driver for Uber Eats. He said he decided to vote in person Tuesday to recall the Governor.

“I've been seeing the quality of the state just degenerate over the last couple of years. Especially since he took office, just seemed like the fires are getting worse and worse. Nobody wants to do anything about it,” he said.

Ariza said that he also hasn’t been satisfied with the Governor’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Just a lack of willingness to respond...We don't see Newsom touring hospitals anywhere, anything like that,” he said.

Chiropractor Ed Rogers also chose to cast his ballot in person. He said he’s voting to replace Newsom with Larry Elder.

“I would just like to see a change. I mean...I'm a businessman here in Chico, been here a long time. I see a lot of businesses leaving Chico, a lot of my friends are in California and (I) see a lot of my friends are leaving California,” he said. “It's just the vibe, it's gotten bad, taxes are high, crime is up.”

Sticker galore at a polling center on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021.
Andrew Nixon
/
CapRadio
Sticker galore at a polling center on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021.

He said that worsening fire season and the COVID-19 pandemic also played a role in his decision. He’s hoping Elder will address those issues.

“I really hope he changes the forest policy to start managing the forest better. So we can stop having these wildfires that affect everybody's business...like myself, and everybody else in town. (I’d) like to see less maks mandates,” Rogers said.

Standing in line to vote at Chico’s First Baptist Church, Cheryl Grace said she wants to keep Newsom as Governor. She said she doesn’t believe any of the other candidates could do a better job addressing the many issues the state is facing.

“I get the idea that he does care about the people in his constituency, and the whole state, especially with our fires and our other problems. I felt that he was doing all that he could do. I don't think somebody else is going to come along and just make a new outlook that's going to solve all the problems,” she said.

This story will be updated throughout election day with voter interviews.

Alec Stutson grew up in Colorado and graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Radio Journalism, 20th/21st Century Literature, and a minor in Film Studies. He is a huge podcast junkie, as well as a movie nerd and musician.
Adia White is a broadcast journalist and producer with nearly 10 years of experience. Her work has appeared on WNYC, This American Life, Capital Public Radio and other local and national programs. She started at North State Public Radio as a freelance reporter in 2017 before leaving for a stint at Northern California Public Media in Santa Rosa.