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Pamela Price recall, Alameda County, California (2023-2024)
| Alameda County District Attorney recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| November 5, 2024 |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in California California recall laws County official recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price took place on November 5, 2024.[1] Voters recalled Price by a margin of 62.9%-37.1%. This was the first time in the county's history that a district attorney was successfully recalled.[2][3]
As of 2020, the county population was 1,682,353 and it was the 19th largest in the country by population. According to election results, 296,893 people voted in the recall, making this recall the largest county-level district attorney recall by number of votes cast since at least 2009.[4] Of the county-level district attorney recalls covered from 2009 to 2023, the 2021 recall election of Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch had the most votes cast with 189,768. Price was first elected in 2022 with 53.1% of the vote.
On April 30, 2024, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors accepted the county's April 15 certification of signatures submitted by the recall campaign against Price. Of the 123,374 signatures submitted by recall supporters, 74,757 met the validation requirements. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters needed to collect a number of signatures equal to 10% (73,195) of the number of registered voters in the county.[5]
Save Alameda for Everyone initiated the recall in 2023.[6] The group described itself as "[a] broad coalition of Alameda County residents, business owners, victims, victims’ families, and concerned citizens."[7] The group said, "DA Price is failing us in her responsibility to enforce the law, prosecute criminals and keep violent offenders off our streets."[7] The group said Price refused to charge cases, lowered sentences, and replaced prosecutors who resigned with unqualified individuals.[8]
Price said Republican-connected special interest groups organized the effort.[9] Price defended what she called her criminal justice reforms, including alternatives to incarceration, charging juveniles as juveniles, holding police accountable, and not adding enhancements to charges. Price said, "Any time that we can divert someone from the criminal justice system, that is a goal because the criminal justice system has shown to be racially biased. Often what studies have shown -- and it's true in Alameda County -- many times people who are perpetrators or labeled as perpetrators were actually victims."[9]
Alameda County is a county in California. The county seat is Oakland. There are 14 incorporated cities: Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, and Union City. Of those cities, Oakland and Fremont are within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Also within the county are nine unincorporated communities: Ashland, Castlewood, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Happy Valley, Hillcrest Knolls, San Lorenzo, and Sunol.[10]
Recall vote
Pamela Price recall, 2024
Pamela Price lost the Alameda County District Attorney recall election on November 5, 2024.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✖ | Yes |
62.9
|
375,442 | ||
No |
37.1
|
221,285 | |||
Total Votes |
596,727 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
Recall supporters argued that Price should be recalled for leniency in sentence enhancements and her mishandling of homicide cases.[5] Supporters argued that Price's criminal justice reforms hurt victims and their families by not going far enough to deliver justice.[9]
Organizations
- Save Alameda For Everyone[11]
- Supporters of Recall Pamela Price[11]
- Alameda County Prosecutors’ Association[12]
Former officials
- Frmr. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley[13]
Recall opponents
Price responded to the recall attempt by arguing that the effort was organized by Republican-connected special interest groups. Price also argued that sentencing enhancements propagate racial disparities and highlighted the need for alternatives to incarceration.[9]
Organizations
- ACLU of Northern California[11]
- Protect the Win for Public Safety[11]
- Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council[14]
- Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club[14]
- Oakland Rising Action[14]
- Asian Pacific Environmental Network Action[14]
Former officials
- Frmr. Oakland Councilmember Wilson Riles[14]
Election spending
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the County of Alameda Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure covering committees formed in support of and opposition to the effort to recall Price.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters needed to collect a number of signatures equal to 10% of the number of registered voters in the county (73,195 signatures).[5]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
About district attorneys
A district attorney is an elected official responsible for prosecuting crimes that occur within their jurisdiction. District attorneys may be elected by a county or some other designated district.[15] These officials have the power to conduct a grand jury investigation, decide whether to prosecute an offender, and offer plea bargains.[16]
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Alameda County, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- County official recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Office of the Alameda County District Attorney
- Official Election Site of Alameda County
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "Alameda DA Pamela Price faces recall vote in November," May 14, 2024
- ↑ The San Francisco Chronicle, "Alameda County DA Pamela Price recalled after historic election," November 8, 2024
- ↑ ABC7 News, "Alameda County DA Pamela Price to face recall vote," April 16, 2024
- ↑ KQED, "Alameda County," accessed November 12, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 FOX KTVU, "Recall committee formed against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price," July 13, 2023
- ↑ nbcbayarea.com, "Group launches effort to recall Alameda County DA Pamela Price," July 12, 2023
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 SAFE, "Home," accessed April 18, 2024
- ↑ SAFE, "FAQs," accessed April 18, 2024
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 cbsnews.com, "Embattled Alameda County DA Pamela Price responds to recall effort, critics," July 17, 2023
- ↑ acgov.org, "Cities," accessed April 25, 2024
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 The Oaklandside, "Recall campaign has outraised District Attorney Pamela Price by millions," May 8, 2024
- ↑ Fox KTVU 2, "Alameda County prosecutors' union backs recall of DA Pamela Price," June 26, 2024
- ↑ The Intercept, "'Crime Has Been a Euphemism for Race': Alameda County’s Reform DA Rejects Recall Narrative," April 2, 2024
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 The Oaklandside, "District Attorney Pamela Price’s supporters object to special election for recall," April 26, 2024
- ↑ Dictionary.com, "District Attorney," accessed September 27, 2016
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Role & Duties of a District Attorney," accessed September 27, 2016
