Voting in the Gubernatorial Recall Election Has Begun at First Church

The Alameda County Registrar of voters arrived early Friday morning with equipment for the Oakland’s Northgate-Waverly precinct voting location. First Church was selected as an “accessible voting location” and was open to receive voters at 8 AM Saturday. It will remain open until 8 pm, Tuesday, which is Election Day. This is the first time First Church has been used as a polling location.

“We’ve had a very steady stream of voters all day, with no lines, but a pretty steady flow. That’s unusual for early voting,” said a poll worker (name withheld). “We’ve had at least fifty voters so far,” she said at 4 pm Saturday.

First Church member Erick Bevington took advantage of the early voting to drop his ballot off Saturday afternoon. “It was wonderful to see the campus so active on Saturday. While I voted, families from the church were playing games on the front lawn, and the Lucy Kinchen Chorale was providing a soundtrack. It was a beautiful Saturday.”

The recall election (the second in a generation) was spurred by a recall petition circulated during the height of the Coronavirus “shelter in place” order. Governor Gavin Newsome faces challenges from a slate of more than forty candidates, most of them Republicans. The last successful recall attempt was in 2003, when Governor Grey Davis was unseated and replaced by movie star Arnold Schwartzenegger.

Any Alameda County voter may drop off their ballot at the First Church voting location. Registered voters may also request a ballot upon arrival.