California Gubernatorial Recall Election: How much is it costing?

The recall election is costing $276 million according to the California Department of Finance, and not everyone is on board with the price tag.

Elle Kurpiewski with the Democratic Headquarters of the Desert said there are far more important things this money could be used for.

“I find this to be really an insult to the voters of California to be doing this recall when the governor has a lot more important things on his mind right now than running for reelection when he has to do it again in 13 months,” said Kurpieski.

However, Mike Netter with the Recall Gavin Newsom Campaign said, using these funds now is important.

“We can’t afford during these crisis times for things to continue to get worse, it’s time for a change," Netter said "The cost of an election might I just say is the cost of democracy.”

Ultimately what is the cost of the recall election for Californians?

The United States Census Bureau's most recent report shows 39.5 million people living in California. Some simple division into $276,000,000 puts each person to be paying roughly about $7.00 each.

That number goes up if we only counted those who pay taxes.

For Riverside County alone, the registrar said the cost for them is estimated to be at $5,000,000 alone. This number includes the cost of printing ballots, mailing them out, hiring temporary staff to help with signature verification and polls.

These funds for the county are coming from the State of California because it is a special election.

The Riverside County Registrar reported the turnout already to be higher than the previous recall election.

Still, thousands of ballots remain to be counted before tentative results are announced Tuesday evening.

You can find all you need to know about the recall election HERE.