Over 4 million registered voters (40 times the population of Santa Clarita) within California supported the recall of California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, according to the Associated Press. 6.9 million registered voters inside California voted against recalling Governor Gavin Newsom on the September 14th recall election.

Governor Newsom’s efforts to handle the pandemic in June 2020 is what began early talks of his recall election. Some people expressed that Newsom’s stay-at-home orders in March 2020 were doing more harm than good. Some residents felt he handled it poorly, and that restricting Californians from leaving their houses for non-necessities violated their rights.

On September 13th, Governor Newsom held a rally in Long Beach, California as a last resort before the recall election the next day. President Joe Biden spoke at the Long Beach rally and encouraged California’s voters to vote against the recall, as they’re both a part of the Democratic party. President Joe Biden stated at the rally: “The eyes of the nation are on California because the decision you’re going to make isn’t just going to have a huge impact on California, it’s going to reverberate around the nation, and quite frankly — not a joke — around the world.”

If Governor Newsom was to be recalled, it would have a huge impact on children within California. School closures would become less common, and the statewide vaccine mandate for state employees, school workers, and healthcare employees would probably be reversed. Mask mandates would most likely also become less common. The Republican frontrunner in the recall election, Larry Elder, often criticized Newsom’s handling of the lockdowns and mandates.

Since Governor Gavin Newsom wasn’t recalled in the election, it is likely we will see more of his policies. Lockdowns and school closures could be seen in the possible near future if officials see another spike in COVID-19 cases. It is expected that the mask mandate will not be lifted anytime soon, as that is one of Governor Newsom’s policies. Castaic students will continue to be affected by the policies instituted by Governor Newsom as a safety precaution in schools and abroad.