The ongoing recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom is not a waste of time. That being said, the answer isn’t exactly cut and dry with which way the vote will swing. For anyone unaware, Gov. Newsom is currently battling a recall for his seat as governor because of his harsh mandates at the height of the pandemic, forcing shutdowns of businesses and school shutdowns, making normal life in California very difficult for a very long time.

Despite the pandemic being something that frankly the entire world was unprepared for, its understandable how governor Newsom took things a little too far. Further down the line, many of California’s constituents struggled to empathize with everything Gov. Newsom was doing, even the most loyal of supporters. However, an interesting yet overlooked fact is that, to initiate a recall, it only takes 1.5 million signatures, which is only 3.7 percent of the state population, indicating that a recall doesn’t fully represent the sentiment of the state as a whole or even a relevant majority.

Currently, the gripe with the election has turned into the amount of money spent on these advertising campaigns on both sides of the argument. Newsom has put over 70 million dollars this year in campaigning and ads against this recall. For this recall he has spent more now than he did on his entire 2018 campaign election. In July and August alone, Newsom spent 20.4 million dollars on ads and his competitor, Larry Elder, raised 13 million. The emergence of Larry Elder has exacerbated the competition to win this recall.

The election polls as they stand currently have Newsom winning at 56 percent, but competition is still fierce and while the whole process has been very expensive, it stands to reason that it is justified as it relates to what the people of California believe is best for them.