The San Francisco Board of Elections certified a petition on Tuesday in a public effort to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
“As prescribed under California Elections Code 11225, the Department reviewed 4,174 signatures (5% of the total submitted) that were randomly selected from the 83,484 signatures submitted with the petition,” Director of Elections John Arntz wrote in a letter to petition organizers Tuesday, according to multiple outlets.
“Based on this review, the Department determined the petition contained a number of valid signatures greater than the minimum of 51,325 signatures required for the petition to be deemed successful.”
If Boudin is removed in a recall vote, the city’s mayor, London Breed, would be required to name an interim leader until the November 2022 election.
The more than 83,000 signatures were turned in last month. Only 50,000 verified signatures were required to force a recall election.
“Tragedy stuck at 4:00 pm in the SoMa area of San Francisco, when a paroled felon by the name of Troy McAlister, drunk and driving a stolen car, ran a red light, lost control and struck Hanako Abe and Elizabeth Platt,” the organizers wrote.
“Two pedestrians, two innocent lives killed. Both women were simply standing on the sidewalk in the path of the McAlister’s careening vehicle. Police found drugs and a handgun in the car,” they added.
The movement blamed Boudin for allowing McAlister to walk free.
“We are confident San Francisco voters will reject this Republican-funded and endorsed effort,” wrote Julie Edwards, spokesperson for the group.
“This recall effort is an attempt to reverse the reforms DA Boudin has enacted to keep us safe and make the criminal justice system fairer,” the statement said.